Vengeful Truth
by FrozenClaws
Summary: Seven demigod-wraths, part god and part monster, plan to revolt against Olympus. Seven demigods must step up and hunt the monsters that threaten the Olympians. Story based on the prophecy at the end of the book The Last Olympian.
1. Chapter 1: Familiar Mystery

**Chapter 1: Familiar Mystery**

**Percy POV**

"Raid of monster, border control left!" a voice yelled.

I was beginning to scale the climbing wall when I heard the warning. Disappointed, I reluctantly jumped off the wall and sprinted toward the voice. You see, I had this goal that I would beat Annabeth's record of climbing the wall sixty-four times. I've only climbed the wall forty-nine times, and since Annabeth was gone, it was the perfect time for me to try beating her record.

Camp Half-Blood didn't have border control because the boundaries were weak, but because new demigods were always coming in. Sometimes, one too many ugly monsters were chasing the half-blood, and we would help destroy the monsters.

When I finally got to the border I saw a small horde of monsters down the hill. I realized Byron and Hector had sounded the alarm.

Byron Rivers was a really cool and friendly guy of the Zeus cabin. He had pale blonde hair and hazel eyes, so he looked nothing like his father. Byron was tall and built and one of the best swordsmen at Camp Half-Blood. He can manipulate lightning as good as Thalia can. Though, his battle skills were so good that it was scary, his personality was anything but threatening.

Hector was holding a golden spyglass. Son of Athena, Hector Lunar, was known for being just about the best strategist that Camp Half-Blood had. I hardly knew Hector, but I always thought he was a relatively decent guy.

"What type of monsters are those?" I asked.

"Small-time monsters," he replied. "I think they're telekines."

"The telekines are chasing a girl," Hector said, "She's probably a demigod since she's armed."

"Armed?"

"Knives or something," Byron answered, "I can't tell from this distance."

"Why isn't she using them to kill the telekines?" I asked.

"One," Hector said, "she might not know how to kill a raid of monsters. Two, she's running with a limp. She's probably injured from an earlier battle."

Ugh, Athena kids and their simple and infuriating logic.

"What's the plan?" someone called from behind.

A small group of demigods had gathered.

"Let the monsters through the borders," Hector said carefully, "We'll be able to get them faster, and therefore save the girl from more danger than necessary. Besides, the monsters are weak; they pose no threat to camp, even if there were no borders. If we fight carefully, we'll be able to get out of this with no wounded people."

People murmured in agreement.

He turned around and raised his arms. He shouted, "I, Hector Lunar, give you permission to enter camp!"

As usual, the sky got darker and we heard thunder.

"Who'll get the girl?" Nicholas Eston asked after Hector was done.

Nicholas is my half-brother and has better manipulation of water and storms than I do. He's one of the best fighters than most people at camp.

"Percy," Hector replied.

He started to run down the hill, towards the telekines.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, "Why me?"

"You have a better chance of saving the girl since you have the Achilles' Curse. If the telekines try keeping you away from her, you can overpower them easily-invincibility and all. After you get her, bring her to safety."

I grimaced at Hector's simple logic. While running, he pressed a button on the spyglass. It made a few clicking and whirring sounds while small metal pieces folded together. When the clicking sounds stopped, it had transformed into a small golden bead. He broke the bead in two halves and snapped the pieces back together onto his camp half-blood necklace. As the bead dangled from his necklace, I realized how much he looked like Annabeth. They both had the same blonde hair and gray eyes. Maybe Hector's chin was pointier, and the color of his eyes were duller, but they bared the same features. The golden bead reminded me of the college ring that Annabeth hung on her necklace. I suddenly wished she was here fighting by my side, like the past, instead of spending her time rebuilding Olympus. I quickly shook the thought off. Building something great was Annabeth's dream, I should be happy for her.

"Missing Annabeth, Percy?" Byron said.

He patted me on the shoulder, "No need to worry. I bet she's doing fine, and missing you, too. Anyways, we're almost there."

The telekines saw us approaching and…seal-flopped towards us. I uncapped Riptide and slashed a telekine in half. Then, I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to get the girl to safety. Where was she? I scanned the field, and I couldn't see her anywhere. I abruptly remembered that I didn't even know what she looked like.

"Byron!" I called, "What did the girl look like?"

"Black hair and…" he answered as he stabbed a telekine. He turned his head towards me and his eyes widened. "She's already up the hill!"

"What!"

I whirled around and saw a few telekines chasing a figure up the hill…towards Peleus. I swore inside my head and sprinted as fast as I could towards them.

Although, Peleus was really strong and nice to all the campers, he was pretty dumb, even for a dragon-and dragons were pretty dumb. He'd eat anyone or anything that he didn't recognize.

As I ran closer, I started to see the figure better. As Byron said, the person was a girl with dark hair. Hector was right, she ran funny-like there was something with one of her legs.

"Hey, wait!" I called.

The girl turned around and I saw her eyes. They were a particular shade of misty green with a pale sheen of silver. She saw me and started running faster up the hill. I looked down and saw that I was still holding a sword.

_You're an idiot, Percy!_ I told myself. _Of course she's gonna run away if she's a stranger waving around a huge sword._

She ran fast! I sprinted after them and the big golden dragon came into view. Shoot! Why couldn't Hector have chosen somebody else? I was known for being bad at foot-racing. The girl was only a few yards away from Peleus.

"Peleus!" I called in a desperate attempt, "Don't eat the girl!"

I didn't bother to remember that dragons probably didn't understand English. As I ran closer I saw that Peleus was asleep. If the girl ran quickly and quietly around Peleus, she wouldn't be in trouble. One of the telekines whacked her with his clawed hand, the force wasn't that strong but her bad leg made her trip. Her head snapped back and smashed against Peleus' hard golden scales. She fell to the floor, motionless.

Peleus lazily opened his eyes and saw her body. He hissed with pleasure and bent over her body.

"Peleus!" I yelled, "Don't eat her!"

I thought the telekines were smart enough not to go any further, since a huge dragon was there, but apparently I was wrong. The telekines kept seal-flopping towards the girl. One telekine was about to stab the girl with a lame copy of Posidon's trident when Peleus chomped down on the telekine. The telekine disintegrated between the dragon's teeth. Peleus snorted unhappily at the loss of his snack. He wrapped his tail protectively around the girl's body crushed all the other telekines under his claws. When I got near Peleus, I immediately headed toward the girl. Peleus uncurled his tail and lightly pushed her towards me.

"Thank goodness you understood," I muttered, patting his head, "You're smarter than I thought."

Peleus growled softly with contentment. I got to my knees and turned the girl's head towards me. For the first time, I saw her face clearly.

The first thing I thought when I saw the girl's face was that she was _really_ pretty. Even for a demigod. Her long, wavy hair cascaded beyond her shoulders and her pale caramel colored skin was flawless. Her features were delicate but I couldn't see the silver-green color of her eyes. They were closed and she still wasn't moving. I gulped, thinking of the worst possible scenario that she'd already met Charon. I took her wrist and felt for a pulse. After a few moments, I felt a steady beat. I let out a sigh of relief. When I glanced at her face again, I flinched. Something nagged me at the back of my mind. I suddenly recalled indistinct memories of an incident long ago. I strained to remember, but it was like trying to remember a forgotten dream. The sudden shadowy flashback disappeared. Where had I seen her before? What had I forgotten?


	2. Chapter 2: Lost Memories

**Chapter 2: Lost Memories**

**Percy POV**

Her face looked so familiar, but where did I see it before? I puzzled over this until my head hurt. I shook my head and decided to think about it later-she was unconscious and hurt, after all. I took a hunting horn hung to my belt and blew three times. Three calls meant _Hello! Need some medical help here!_

After a few minutes, two kids from the Apollo cabin and Josie Vileguard came. Josie was also a daughter of Poseidon and not only could she use water to heal her own wounds but she was an expert at using the element to cure other people's injuries, too. She hurried over to the mysterious girl's side.

"Who's this?" Will Solace, the son of Apollo, asked.

"She was being chased by some telekines. They're being taken care of down the hill."

They nodded their heads and bent next to the girl. I hastily moved out of the way and watched them work. I waited to see their reaction when they saw her face. They didn't say anything. Hmm, maybe the familiarity of her appearance was just my imagination.

"Oh yeah," I said, remembering, "I think there's something wrong with her leg-she was running with a limp."

"Why is she unconscious?" the other Apollo guy asked.

"She stopped moving after her head hit Peleus' scales," I replied.

He looked at questionably like, _Who in the right mind would smash their own head against a dragon? _But, he didn't say anything.

Josie had rolled up one of the girl's pant cuffs, and I saw that the girl's ankle was bruised green and blue.

"It looks like she sprained it really bad," Josie said.

She reached into her jacket pocket and took out a mini plastic bottle of water. She twisted off the cap and spread the water on the girl's ankle. Josie closed her eyes and murmured some healing hymn. The water glowed with a radiant sapphire color, and sparkled with silver ripples. The bruises slowly disappeared from the girl's ankle.

"Amazing," I told her.

"Thanks," she replied, grinning.

Will and the other guy stood up. "We checked her head," Will Solace said. "We can't find any injuries, so the impact probably wasn't too bad. We should still bring her back to the Big House, though."

He stretched out his hand and a shimmery golden stretcher appeared out of nowhere. I jumped a little and he grinned at me, "Just a little privilege of being Apollo's son."

The other Apollo guy picked up the girl and gently laid her on the stretcher. He and Will picked it up and slowly started towards the Big House.

"Did you see anything strange about the girl's face?" I asked Josie.

"No, why?" she inquired.

"Oh, it's nothing," I said quickly.

She looked at me confused and said, "Well, you better go check the battle going down there. It doesn't look bad for us, but it's better to check. I'm going to help Jaden and Will with the girl."

She waved goodbye to me and ran towards the healers. I wondered more about where I've seen the girl before, but decided quickly that it was just my imagination.

Once, I got down the hill, I realized that all that remained of the telekines was monster dust. Byron coughed and brushed some dust out of his hair and clothes. His blonde hair was powdered with brown dust and his face was streaked with filth.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"Telekines must've thought I smelled like dog food. Thirty of them came after me," he replied.

"Thirty?" I said, "That's impressive."

"Well, they're just telekines, after all. It was nothing compared to the dragons I faced coming to camp," he said.

"Dragons," I said, "Seriously?"

He smiled and brushed some monster dust of his sleeve. "I've always been okay at fighting monsters."

Okay at fighting monsters? Byron was seriously being modest. There was a rumor that Byron had also single-handedly defeated a drakon. Trust me, that's no small feat. Hector walked over and sheathed his silver sword. Hector's sword had a hilt that was a shape of an owl. Its eye was a large, milky pearl.

"How about the girl, Percy?" Hector said

"Well, uh, she kinda got knocked out…"

"What?" he exclaimed.

"Well, you see…"

I explained all of what happened; except for the fact that I thought I've seen her somewhere else before.

"She was a fast runner, though," Hector said, but he was cleared unimpressed with my inability to complete a simple task.

I went back to the training grounds, and after asking some campers questions and pissing off some Ares kids, I figured out where the girl was. She was in the sick room, the same place I was after I faced the Minotaur for the first time. When I wandered into the room, the manner of the room was silent and depressing. The girl was awake, looking obviously confused, but other than that, she looked fine; what was to worry about? I glanced at Chiron's dark expression and realized something was very wrong. Argus was leaning on the wall, all of his blue eyes looking sad and worried. Josie's face was buried in her hands and she looked utterly downcast. Even Mr. D, who is normally bugged by all of the arriving demigods, was sitting at a small table and looked concerned.

"What's wrong?" I asked uncertainly.

"The girl…" Josie said. Her voice trailed off.

"What?" I insisted.

Chiron looked up; his usually bright eyes were dark. "She can't remember anything."

"What are you talking about?" I asked bewildered. I wasn't sure if I just understood what he said.

"It's simple, Patrick Jordon," Dionysus said, "She's lost all her memories."


	3. Chapter 3: The Call

**Chapter 3: The Call**

**Percy POV**

"What?" I exclaimed.

I was so surprised; I didn't get pissed off at Mr. D for getting my name wrong.

"It's strange," the girl said, "I can't remember a lot of things."

She was sitting up on the bed. She looked around the room with her silver-green eyes. She wore a black, worn-out jacket with ripped-off sleeves. Her dark gray pants were smeared with dirt and monster dust. She had multiple knives strapped to her legs, which looked dangerously lethal. Some were longer than others, and the metals were different colors.

"That hit on the head must have been harder then we thought it was," Chiron said.

"What hit?" she said confused.

"Oh, you guys don't know each other yet," Josie said, "Percy, this is Tria. Tria, this is Percy."

"Hello, Percy," she said, with absolutely no sign of recognition on her face.

"Uh…you don't remember me…Tria?" I asked confused.

"No," she said, "I don't think I've seen you before…"

"Um…"

Okay, this was the most awkward conversation I've probably ever had. Chiron interrupted the uncomfortable silence by saying, "In a moment, Percy will show you the camp. The one you saw on the video tape."

Oh, she saw the introduction tape of Camp Half-Blood. She nodded and Chiron gestured me to come over. I followed Chiron outside the building. He was in his wheelchair form, his horse half was covered.

"What do you mean, she doesn't remember anything?" I asked.

"She only remembers a two things," Chiron said, "One, she knows her name. Those knives strapped on her legs? She remembers how to use those, too. She doesn't remember anything else. She has no memory of getting here."

Now, I felt even guiltier of letting the telekines get her. It must suck not to remember anything!

"All we can do its hope that she'll regain her memory," Chiron continued, "But for now, show her around camp. We'll start her training tomorrow."

Even though the introduction video of Camp Half-Blood explained a lot of things, the veteran campers still had to show the new campers a few things that a video couldn't explain.

"Can't Mr. D fix her?" I suggested, "He's good with mind problems, right?"

"Insanity differs from a great range of mind defections. Memory loss is one of the faults that he can't cure."

"Oh, that sucks."

"Go now, Percy," Chiron said, "Dionysus has challenged me to another game of pinochle."

"Um, okay?"

After my conversation with Chiron, I led Tria outside. First, I showed her the volleyball court. Outside, Camp Half-Blood was crowded with demigods like a busy airport. I still couldn't get over the fact how many demigods really existed. I then showed her the strawberry fields. A few campers were strolling around and picking baskets of berries. Some satyrs played a pleasant tune on their reed pipes.

"Are those satyrs?" Tria asked, "I remember reading about them somewhere."

Yes! She remembers something!

"Yeah," I replied, "Their music helps with the growing of the strawberries."

"Okay."

Then, I showed her the thick forest where we played Capture the Flag and hunted monsters. After explaining how we played Capture the Flag, I led her to the cabins. Over a year of time, the rectangle of cabins was almost finished.

Iris' cabin was made of iridescent white marble that glistened with multihued light in the sun. Depending on the angle of sunlight and how you looked at the marble, the pale rainbow glow shimmered differently. In front of the cabin were several marble poles studded with differently shaded milky white and silvery gray tiles. A few tiles were mirrors, and they were put in such an angle, that no matter where the sun was, the mirrors reflected a maze of rainbow bands that crossed in front of the building. (an architectural piece invented by an Athena camper)

The original design of the Iris cabin was drawn by a few uncreative demigods. The original sketch was a square building with rainbow stripes. It also had a cardboard rainbow as the roof. Thankfully, some other campers managed to convince them to change the design. Iris must've been relieved that we changed the plan.

Hecate's cabin was made of several different glossy dark stones. Each stone had different symbols carved into it and every one had its own unique shade and hue of color. There were a few silver torches with bright golden flames. The golden door was intricately decorated and had a brass number 24 carved into it.

Nemesis' cabin was a simpler, more modest building, then most of the cabins. I was told that the simplicity of the cabin represented Nemesis' balance. The building was made of white stones. It had a brass number 13 above a slick obsidian door. The roof was slate gray. Hanging in front of the door was a golden Greek-style balance scale. There was an apple tree in front of the cabin which I used to think was pretty random, until someone explained that the apple branch was Nemesis' symbol. There were currently two Nemesis campers. Nemesis' daughter leaned against the apple tree, reading an Ancient Greek book. The girl had short black locks and looked exactly like her half-brother, Ethan Nakamura. I suddenly remembered the incident on Mount Olympus, when Ethan fell to his death…

"Are you okay?" Tria asked concerned.

I realized I was staring at the middle of nowhere, thinking of Ethan's death. "Uh, yeah, I'm alright."

I glanced at the silver plaque at the foot of the apple tree. It read Ethan's name and underneath the plaque, the ashes of his shroud was buried. After a short silence, Tria said, "The cabins are so pretty. Do they all represent something?"

"Someone, actually," I answered, "Each cabin represents a Greek deity. Whoever your immortal parent is, you live in their cabin. If you're undetermined, that means you don't know who your immortal parent is, then you stay in Hermes."

"Okay."

After another look at the cabins, I decided to bring Tria to visit Blackjack.

Once I lead Tria to the stables, I fed the ebony pegasus an apple.

_Aw, no sugar cubes, boss?_

I didn't bother to tell Blackjack not to tell me boss anymore, he either had a very short-term memory, or he just didn't listen to me.

"Nope," I told him, "Too many of those make you high."

_Begh, they're still good.._

"You're talking to the pegasus?" Tria asked.

"Yeah," I replied, "Since Poseidon's my dad, I can talk to horses."

"Mm, Poseidon the sea god, creator of horses," Tria mused.

_Boss, you met my friend, Flapjack, yet?_

"You made friends with a pancake?" I exclaimed.

Tria stared at me like I was crazy.

_Well, technically flapjacks are kinda like granola bars…_

"They're also a synonym of thin pancakes, but no matter about the definition. Why did you make friends with a pancake…or a granola bar?"

Tria cocked her head, her expression saying, _You guys are talking about a definition of a flapjack? _

_Flapjack is a horse, boss. He's a little pegasus I found on the streets. I named him Flapjack._

"Why the F…" I started, "Why did you name him Flapjack?"

_I'll introduce you guys. You'll see why I named him Flapjack._

Tria wasn't listening to our conversation…or half of our conversation, anymore. It was probably too confusing for her. She was observing at a new camper's pegasus riding lesson.

Blackjack ducked his head into the stables and after a few minutes he popped back out.

_Here he is, boss._

Blackjack trotted out, followed by a small pegasus. By the looks of it, the pegasus was probably a toddler.

_You can't hear Flapjack's thoughts, yet. He's still in his learning stage. You see why his name is Flapjack, boss? _

Surprising, I could. Flapjack was a pale buttermilk color. He was really skinny, probably from living on the streets. His mane and wings were a beautiful crystal white, kind of like the color of whipped cream. His large and innocent brown eyes looked like fudge…

"Who is this little one?" Tria said.

"Oh, its Blackjack's new friend, his name is Flapjack," I answered.

Tria walked cautiously over and stroked Flapjack. "Flapjack…it fits him."

Flapjack nuzzled against Tria and neighed softly. It was troubling not able to hear Flapjack's thoughts; it was like trying to talk to a statue. Surprisingly, Flapjack had taken a liking to Tria quickly. Pegasi were normally very cautious when it came to strangers.

Suddenly there was a brilliant white flare. I looked carefully where the huge flash of light came from. "Was that from the campfire?" I asked.

"I think so," Tria said.

"Let's go," I said quickly, "It might mean trouble."

Tria gave Flapjack one last pat before following my sprint to the campfire. When I got there, a huge throng of half-bloods were crowding around something. They were whispering about something.

"Excuse me, coming through," I muttered, pushing through the crowd. A few campers that didn't like me (ahem, Ares campers) elbowed me and 'accidently' pushed me.

An Ares camper shoved me into Clarisse, "Oh, I'm sorry. That was an accident."

"Watch where you're going, punk!" Clarisse threatened.

I quickly slipped behind a few campers before she could pulverize me. Tria was following behind me, letting me do the job of clearing the pathway. Suddenly, the group of campers came to a clearing.

I looked up to see what the campers were looking at. The fire was flickering with white fire and sparks-the same color as the bright light that had struck just then. Next to the fire was a teenager with silver hair.

"Hello, Percy. Are those all the campers, Chiron?" she asked.

He nodded in reply.

"Greeting, demigods," she said, "I have come to deliver the call."


	4. Chapter 4: Wrath Hunters

**Chapter Four: Wrath Hunters**

**Percy POV**

I looked up to see what the campers were looking at. The fire was flickering with white fire and sparks-the same color as the bright light. Next to the fire was an older teenager with silver hair, and when I say silver, I mean literally silver. Her hair was like sunrays shining through a silver mist. She had it pulled up into a high ponytail. Her hair was held together with a rainbow iris flower. The blended multihued color moved across the flower like the rainbow spray of a waterfall.

"Hello, Percy. Are those all the campers, Chiron?" she asked.

Her voice made me jolt. Instead of a teenager's voice, she sounded like an adult woman. Her voice also sounded oddly familiar…

"Yes, these are all of the campers," Chiron replied

"Greeting, demigods," she said, "I have come to deliver the call."

This girl was Iris!

She spoke in a clear and repetitive voice that I've heard whenever I received an Iris message. The irises of her eyes were a pale pearly frost color with the slightest shade of silvery-sapphire. She wore a strapless dress that matched the color of her eyes with fabric that flowed down to her ankles. She also had on pastel silver ballet flats. The diamond necklace that adorned her neck glittered multicolored in the sunlight. Iris looked like a high-school student going to prom, instead of a goddess who took care of ancient Greek's version of IM. The Greek gods and goddesses still didn't cease to surprise me.

Iris waved her hand and a rainbow film of mist materialized beneath her hand. The gods of Olympus became visible in the fog.

"This is the call that begins the next prophecy," Zeus said, cutting directly to the point.

The next prophecy! What in the Underworld? Apollo said that my prophecy didn't happen in a span of seventy years. I felt dizzy remembering the lines.

_Foes bear arms to the doors of death…To storm or fire the world must fall. _

Come on! Couldn't I have just a few moments of peace in my life? I suppose not…

I wasn't the only one who was surprised. All the half-bloods around me were murmuring and muttering to each other. Most of the new campers had learned about the Great Prophecy, after a while. Only Tria looked confused, she apparently had no idea what a prophecy was.

"This message will explain the first line of the prophecy. We require seven demigods to answer our call."

What call? We didn't exactly have cell phones on ourselves.

"All of us know this is confusing," Nemesis said, on her new throne, "But you must stay silent for the moment and listen."

Everybody instantly became silent. Nemesis, being the goddess of revenge, could certainly make our lives miserable.

"Thank you, Nemesis," my father, Poseidon, said when everybody had focused again, "It as Zeus says, this is the first line of the prophecy, _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call._"

"There are a group of monsters that threaten the safety of Olympus," Ares cut in, "They are almost of the same power of the gods, but we cannot challenge them, it is against the Ancient Laws."

Shoot, this must be really bad, Ares following the rules? If Ares himself admitted that someone was as strong as himself that had to mean something really disastrous.

"Seven demigod-wraths are planning to revolt against Olympus," Athena pointed out, "They are not normal monsters, they have a considerable amount of intelligence."

This was even more surprising, Athena calling monsters intelligent. Wait…what were demigod-wraths? A type of monster…that was a demigod?

"What do you mean, Athena?" a camper asked, "What are demigod-wraths?"

This question had aroused even more noise from the campers. One glare from Nemesis shut us up.

"Demigod-wraths are the names we gave the new monsters that plan to rebel. They are part-god and part-monster," a pale minor goddess said. I couldn't recognize who she was.

Part-god and part-monster...how was that possible?

"The leader of the group is the son of Poseidon," Hecate said. Immediately all gazes turned to me and Nicholas Eston.

"But he is a wrath, not a half-blood," she said, "His mother is Medusa."

Several gasps and murmurs passed through the crowd of campers.

"There are six other demigod-wraths that plan to join him with to revolt on Olympus," a minor god said.

"Wait," Hector, "These seven demigod-wraths have the power to go against...all the immortals of Olympus?"

"They might not, but their power might convince other monsters or even Titans to join their revolt," Hades said.

Whoa, this was coming way to fast. Monsters that were part-god. What the heck? Medusa's son? Monsters that had the power to challenge the gods? What was going on?

"So what do you want us to do?" a demigod asked.

"Our call asks for seven powerful half-bloods must compile a team that has consists of one satyr," Athena explained, "A hero challenging these demigod-wraths one-on-one will be suicide. The team must be strategically formed in the best possible way to defeat the wrath that you are hunting. The satyr is necessary to track your demigod-wrath. Satyrs have the obvious ability to be able to smell a monster's stench."

Psh, talk about being used. The satyrs did look a little hurt, but mostly the looked scared. I didn't blame them. At least seven of them had to go help destroy a monster that could mean the end of Olympus.

"Wait," Malcolm of Athena cabin said, "If they're monsters, they'll just resurrect, right?"

"Hades has cast a spell that will hold their soul in the Underworld for at least a century before their spirit comes back to the world, and their body," Athena explained.

Talk about complicated.

"The first monster is the leader, Proteus. He is the son of Poseidon and Medusa, the brother of Chrysaor and the Pegasus," Athena started.

"Medusa is the Pegasus' mom?" I said, my ADHD butting in.

A couple of the campers snickered.

"Yes, Percy," Athena said, looking amused, "When Perseus of legend cut off Medusa's head, Pegasus and Chrysaor, bore with Poseidon's blood, sprung from Medusa's neck.

Yep, I could totally see the comparison between the winged horse and the snake lady. I decided not to ask who, Chrysaor...I'm going to call him Chris, was.

"Oh okay," I said dumbly.

"Moving on..." Hera sighed.

"Proteus has inherited both of his parents' abilities," Artemis said, "He can manipulate storms and earthquakes, and he has the ability to turn one to stone. Who will be Proteus' hunter?"

Okay, you just kind of told us that this guy had half of a god's ability and he could turn people to statues. Did she expect someone to go, _I may die horribly, and this sounds pretty much impossible, but I volunteer to kill this guy!_

Everybody was silent for a moment until I heard a crowd of campers behind me gasp. I turned around to see a guy raise his hand. Wait, was he crazy or something? The only person who I would guess could challenge...this Proteus person...was Byron Rivers. I looked closer at this camper that raised his hand. He seemed to be looking down at his feet, so I couldn't see his face. His messy hair was jet black and fell just above his neck.

"I'll challenge Proteus," he said. He lifted his head, and I saw his blank eyes.

Artemis stared at him through the Iris mist, "You're blind, though..."

"That's the point, Lady Artemis," he said, "There is no possibility of me becoming stone, for I will never see his face."

"Very well," Artemis said, she gestured to Zeus.

"Winter Shakler, you will be Proteus' wrath hunter," Zeus declared

Winter Shakler was the son of Hades and a blind warrior. How could I have forgotten Winter? He was pretty much the best swordsman at Camp Half-Blood, an excellent strategist, and definitely the most experienced monster fighter of camp. Though he was blind, all of his other heightened senses made up for his lack of sight. His hearing was so well, it was almost abnormal. He could hear a bird fly from the other side of the forest. Being the son of Hades, he could kind of feel the vibrations of the ground. He said it was like the vibrations traveled directly to the Underworld and he could sense it. He was also very sensitive to his surroundings; he could feel the slightest touch of wind that meant the swing of a sword. Winter's senses were so precise; he could determine by the feel of the wind and sound of the metal what the weapon was, without actually feeling the weapon. He could summon undead like Nico, but he rarely used his summoning ability, he preferred fighting the enemy himself, melee style. Hades had kept Winter in the Underworld to help him handle the ghosts. This way, Winter had never aged for four hundred years he worked for his father. Besides the four centuries in the Underworld, Winter was nineteen years old, two years older than me. He was the same age as Byron and probably a little stronger.

Even though Winter's strength was obvious, he wasn't very popular around camp. Because of his silent and distant nature, nobody was really friends with him. Most people just thought he was strange. I knew some people who disliked Winter because they thought he seemed arrogant with his cool and reserved attitude. Personally, I just didn't really know him.

"Come forward, Winter," Iris said.

Winter stepped forward and found his way through the crowd. By the way he moved through the crowd, nobody could really tell he was blind, unless you saw his blank eyes. Winter bowed to Iris and then kneeled next to her.

"The next monster is named Achlys," Artemis said.

"The poison goddess?" a camper asked.

"No," Artemis said, "These monsters have never been documented in stories of legends before. They may have the same name, but they're totally different types of monsters."

"Achlys is the daughter of Charybdis," Athena explained.

I flashbacked, remembering the time when Clarisse's ship was wrecked. The splintering of wood of the ship. Charybdis sucking in the sea, I couldn't control it. Tyson disappearing. How helpless I had felt...

"I'll be Achlys' hunter!" I shouted.

Everyone turned to me, confused. Grover and Clarisse were looking at me pitifully, fully understanding my outburst, but not supporting it.

"Don't you think you should know more before charging head-first with a dangerous monster?" Artemis asked, amused.

"Well yeah, but..." I muttered, feeling embarrassed.

"Very well," she said, "Achlys is fully capable of summoning full scale storms: typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, and more."

Maybe being her hunter wasn't a good idea...

"Perseus Jackson," Zeus said, "You will be Achyls' wrath hunter."

Ares was smiling wickedly and my father, Poseidon, was looking worried. My father, the sea god, was worried about this Achlys person? This probably wasn't a good idea...

Grover looked really pale and I could see him trembling. Of course! I had to choose a satyr to be on my team. I was obviously going to choose Grover, but by being on my team, he might die...

Suddenly, it started raining-hard. Everybody instantly looked up with sheer surprise. It _never_ rained in camp. Flashes of lightning suddenly lit up the sky. Winter cocked his head, probably hearing a rat eat some cheese over the sound of the storm. He stood up immediately and yelled, "Everybody, get away from the campfire!"

Inhumanly fast, he pushed some stunned campers away. What was wrong with him? Winter was normally extremely quiet and calm. Iris and Chiron had moved away from the campfire, but were obviously as surprised as me at Winter's sudden burst of attitude. As Winter leaped away, an enormous flash of light struck the campfire. Gold smoke swirled around a shadow of figure that stood directly where the lightning had struck. I drew Riptide, ready for a fight.


	5. Chapter 5: The Oath

**Chapter 5: The Oath**

**Winter POV**

All I heard after Artemis asked for someone to destroy Proteus was silence. I didn't blame them. Proteus' abilities sounded frightening enough-the fact that he was Poseidon's son didn't make it much better.

_You're the only one who can face Proteus_, a voice nagged in my mind.

I sighed; I didn't want to go out of my way to fight a monster when it wasn't necessary. But, someone else might die by trying to do so…

Tilting my head down, I pondered over my choices. I decided my only choice was to challenge Proteus, the son of Poseidon and Medusa.

"I'll challenge Proteus," I said reluctantly.

I couldn't go back now. I lifted my head to hear what the immortals had to say.

"You're blind, though..." Artemis said.

"That's the point, Lady Artemis," I replied, "There is no possibility of me becoming stone, for I will never see his face."

"Very well," she said.

"Winter Shakler, you will be Proteus' wrath hunter," Zeus' voice boomed.

I winced at the sound of Zeus' thunderous voice.

"Come forward, Winter," Iris said.

I stepped forward and could feel the warmth of the campers' bodies around me. Maneuvering myself towards the colder points of air-to places where there were less people, I could feel the vibrations in the ground of demigods hurrying to move out of the way for me. I felt the humidity of the air clear, and I felt another presence-the presence of the goddess, Iris. I bowed and kneeled next to her.

Artemis and Athena then started explaining the next wrath, a child of Charybdis.

"I'll be Achlys' hunter!" Percy shouted, interrupting the goddesses.

Mm, Percy was so impulsive; it wouldn't be a surprise if he regretted his decision later.

Artemis sighed and then continued describing Achlys' abilities.

"Perseus Jackson," Zeus said, "You will be Achyls' wrath hunter."

Suddenly, I felt cold drops on my arm, and they fell faster and faster. It was raining? The air around slowly grew more chilly. I could hear the surprised cries of the campers around me. I felt the jolting vibration of lightning striking the ground. In about ten seconds, I heard the rumbling of thunder. That meant the lightning was about two miles away. The time between the lightning bolts and the thunder was getting shorter. That meant the lightning bolts were getting closer and closer. I lifted my head to hear the thunder better. Judging from the repetitive rhythm of the lightning strikes…in a couple of seconds the next one would be in the group of the campers. I got to my feet as quick as I could and shouted, "Everybody, get away from the campfire!"

I realized nobody was moving so I shoved the closest campers away. I felt the aura of the rainbow goddess and the smell of horse move away. Iris and Chiron were moving away from the campfire. The echoing of the thunder sounded right after the tremble of lightning. I leaped away as fast as I could and felt the searing heat of a lightning bolt strike the ground. Smoke engulfed my lungs as I coughed violently. Getting to my feet, I waved the smoke away. Then, I realized there was a new weight on the ground. The vibrations indicated someone that was about seventeen years old was standing directly where the lightning had hit. I felt the warm smoke of the lightning clear away and I heard the campers gasp.

"Annabeth?" I heard a camper ask.

The murmuring of the demigods grew at the sight of her new arrival. Zeus must've felt an unnecessary need to send Annabeth down in some sort of dramatic way so she could join Percy in his hunt of Achlys. Well, Zeus certainly got that dramatic part accomplished.

"Really?" I heard Annabeth say, "It's great that you got me down here, but did you really have to make it rain?"

More like, _it's great that you got her down, but did you really have to send down a huge lightning bolt while you're at it?_

Probably, yes. I slowly moved back to my kneeling position next to Iris. Strangely, the thunderbolt didn't leave any scorch marks on the ground.

**Percy POV**

The gods allowed Annabeth to come back? No way! I couldn't help stopping the huge grin that was spreading across my face. Annabeth walked over to where I was, while waving to her other past friends, "Hey, Seaweed Brain."

Mm, first thing she says in a year when she sees me. How considerate. Did I actually expect anything otherwise? Not really. Eventually, the rain slowed down and the sky cleared, so the Aphrodite kids wouldn't have to fuss as much about their frizzy hair.

Iris gestured to me, indicating for me to come up. Following Winter's example, I bowed to Iris and then I kneeled next to Winter. Although he was blind, I could tell that he sensed me getting to the ground.

"The third wrath is the brother of Achlys, Timoleon. He also has excellent control over storms like his sister. Though Timoleon is better at water manipulation than Achlys, he's…" Artemis

"I'll take on Timoleon," Queena said in a haughty voice.

I glared at her. Queena Karen, the daughter of Zeus, always felt the needless impulse to show off. She looked exactly like her father, with black hair and stormy blue eyes. Queena was pretty, but her personality definitely brought the interest level down. She had the same grandstanding smile Zeus had, and just a little more dramatic flair. She did great, interrupting Artemis, so it seemed that she was facing a stronger monster than Achlys. She had a pretty big nerve, too, to interrupt the huntress goddess.

"Lady Artemis," Winter suddenly said, "If I may interrupt for a moment."

"Of course," she said, but she sounded pretty annoyed. Not surprising, she was already interrupted three times, and for a goddess that was outrageous.

"May you continue your description of Timoleon?" Winter said, "I believe that having full knowledge of this wrath would allow Queena to have a better chance of defeating this monster."

I couldn't help but grin. Queena glared at Winter and stuck her tongue at him. Too bad he wouldn't be able to see it. Queena's face started getting red with embarrassment despite herself.

"Certainly, Winter," Artemis said, "_Though_, Timoleon is better at water manipulation than Achyls, he has almost no ability at controlling earth related storms, such as earthquakes and sinkholes."

"I have no fear of this monster," Queena said, "I shall take on Timoleon."

Of course, Queena, of course you will.

"Queena Karen, you will be Timoleon's hunter," Zeus said.

Iris beckoned Queena to come forward. Without bothering to acknowledge Iris, Queena carefully distanced herself from me and stood with her head held high.

"The fourth monster is Obelix, the son of Chrysaor," Artemis said.

Yes! I might figure out who that Chris dude is!

"Being the son of Chrysaor, Obelix is extremely proficient with his sword, the _aor_."

Great, that tells me practically nothing about Chrysaor.

"Not only is Obelix good with his sword, as his father is part horse, Obelix can move considerably faster than a typical mortal."

Okay, Chris is a sword-wielding, half-horse, son of Medusa. That is totally normal.

"Obelix is also very intelligent," Artemis continued, "He is an extremely talented strategist, and is definitely the smartest wrath of the group."

"Who will be Obelix's hunter?" Athena asked.

I glanced at Annabeth to see if she would accept the request. Obelix sounded like the type of monster that she would be interested in tracking down. She was simply looking around, like everyone else; to see if anyone would accept.

"I answer the call," Hector Lunar, son of Athena.

"Very well," Athena said, sounding pleased.

"Hector Lunar, you will be Obelix's wrath hunter," Zeus affirmed.

Hector bowed to Iris and kneeled in line next to Queena. Hector had a determined expression. He probably wanted to see if he could outdo Obelix-whom Artemis described as a genius and excellent strategist.

"The next monster is Melanctha," Artemis carried on.

Ew, what type of parent would name their child Melanctha?

"Her father is Geryon."

Geryon, apparently.

"She appears as a normal human, but she possesses two hearts. She is also an expert with her pair of hunting knives. Who will hunt Melanctha?"

Suddenly, a crash of thunder was heard. Behind the group of campers I could see a swirl of silver smoke. Ugh, I've had my share of mysterious lightning and smoke for today. The silver vapor slowly faded away, and I saw a girl wearing a silver circlet and a black band shirt.

"Hey!" Thalia said, as she stepped out of the silver fog, "Did I hear somebody talk about hunting some powerful monsters?"

"Hey, Thalia!" I heard a camper call.

"I'll hunt the monster!" she declared, triumphantly.

"Thalia Grace, you will be Melanctha's wrath hunter," Zeus said.

"Thalia, why are you here?" I whispered, as she approached.

"I can't let you beat me, Seaweed Brain," she answered, "Besides; this is the perfect opportunity to test my skills as a Hunter."

"Oh, so this is a competition?" I confirmed.

"Yep, winner gets to choose what the loser does," Thalia answered.

"You're on," I said.

She and Queena exchanged death-threatening glares, before Thalia took her seat next to Hector. Last time Thalia and Queena met, not a good experience. Half of the new cabins were destroyed. Although their features were extremely similar, they also looked like opposites with Thalia's black punk clothes and Queena's crisp clothes that always had some shade of pink.

"The sixth monster is Alcander," Athena said, "He is the son of Polyphemus. Alcander basically has elevated muscle capacity."

"You could also say he's really strong," Ares said summing things up for us confused campers.

"Who will be Alcander's hunter?" Athena asked.

"I'll do it," Clarisse growled.

She was still pissed at Polyphemus for trying to marry her, huh? I didn't blame her; I would, too, if some Cyclopes tried to marry me.

"Aw, you can't go and destroy your son," an Aphrodite camper said.

Clarisse turned around and promptly punched the person in the face. The Aphrodite kid collapsed to the floor and her brothers and sisters hurried to help her up.

Ares grin basically read, _you go, girl! _When Aphrodite glared at him, he immediately dropped his smile.

"Um, Clarisse La Rue, you will be Alcander's wrath hunter," Zeus said.

Clarisse glared at the Aphrodite camper one more time before taking her place next to Thalia.

"The last wrath is Idylla, daughter of Lamia," Athena said, "Idylla is responsible for several cases of cannibalism and she has the power to manipulate one's mind. Her power of control grows weaker if a person has strong willpower."

Um, that thing about willpower? Maybe you shouldn't have told us that she ate people.

"Who will be Idylla's hunter?"

An awkward silence spread across the campers. They all looked at one another questionably, and seemingly nobody wanted to take on Idylla.

"Um, well, if nobody else wants to," Byron said after a while, "I suppose I'll do it."

Surprisingly, nobody else wanted to hunt a cannibalistic monster that could control your mind.

"Byron Rivers, you will be Idylla's hunter," Zeus declared.

"The seven demigods have now been chosen," Hades said, "To make it official you must swear on an oath of the River of Styx."

"Will the seven of you promise to do your best to destroy these demigod-wraths and not withdraw unless of absolute necessity?" Poseidon said.

"Demigods, please rise and accept the oath," Iris said.

I glanced at Grover and Annabeth. If anything else, I was obviously going to add them on my team to hunt Achlys, but could I really endanger their lives like that?


	6. Chapter 6: Light and Dark

**Chapter 6: Light and Dark**

**Percy POV**

I was aware of the other wrath hunters getting to their feet, but I stayed on the ground. The sudden impulse that had overwhelmed me to destroy Achlys had abruptly dwindled. The thoughts of my friends dying were holding me back. One decision was that I didn't have to add them on my team…but I've never faced a monster without one of them. Facing possibly one of the strongest monsters of history, how could I face it without my friends? They could die…what was I thinking when I accepted the request? Well, I could back out now…but something didn't let me. Memories of losing Tyson kept coming back to me…

"Percy," Winter whispered.

I was so lost in thought; I hadn't noticed Winter getting back down.

"Achlys is a strong monster, extremely strong, if you must say. But, you are a son of Poseidon-the son of one of the strongest gods in the world. One cannot face her if they do not have confidence. Someone else may substitute you, but if one of the strongest half-bloods at camp backs out of this, do you think they'll face Achlys with the faith they might've had? You have the power to face Achlys and there will be many people supporting you. I don't know why you want to hunt Charybdis' daughter, but I know you won't back out of it, whatever it is that makes you want to quit," Winter said, "Your decision is clear, Percy, the choice is how you are going to go into it."

He slowly got to his feet, obviously ignoring the suspicious whispers of the other campers. Then, the campers started to move out of the way for someone.

"Hey, Tyson," a camper said, "What's going on?"

"We finished the cabins!" Tyson said clapping his hands, "Hello, Percy! What's happening?"

"Percy…is going to fight a monster," Grover said.

"Can I help?" Tyson asked, eagerly, "Explode monster boom time!"

Seeing Tyson enthusiastically talking about exploding monsters, reminded me of not only the bad times, but also the good memories of fighting monsters with my friends. Winter was right; a lot of people would be helping me. If my friends were helping me, I would be able to do better than I ever could. Feeling better, I got to my feet. I glanced at Winter. It was as if he had read my mind. He had his arms crossed and he wasn't looking at me. Well duh…he's blind.

"Do the wrath hunters agree to the oath?" Iris asked.

"Yes," the chorus of seven half-bloods said.

"The call is answered," Zeus declared, "Goddess Iris shall explain the rest of the matter to the wrath hunters."

The Iris message materialized in the wind.

"Each of the seven half-bloods must create a team to destroy their monster," Iris began, "In each team, must be one satyr. I will give each satyr a pithos." Iris held up an intricately decorated clay jar, "Each pithos contains the scent of each demigod-wrath."

"Hunters? Please choose a satyr to be on your team," she said.

I waved over to Grover. He nervously trotted over to my side, chewing a tin can while he was at it. I tried to put on a reassuring smile, even though I was nervous, too. Luckily, Grover's seemingly permanent jumpy expression slowly changed into small timid smile.

The others had a difficult time getting a satyr to join their team, since they didn't have a half-goat as their friend. Eventually, each of them managed to get a satyr on their team. The satyr on Queena's team was trembling so hard, I could see him shaking and I believed I could hear his teeth chattering. I didn't blame him-Queena was scary, demanding, and bossy. Sure, Winter was scary, too, but more in a silent way.

Iris beckoned the satyr on Winter's team to come forward. She handed him a dark green, black, and sapphire colored _pithos_. When the satyr held the jar, he started trembling. Winter asked the satyr something.

"The scent is so…so strong," I heard the satyr reply shakily.

"Grover," Iris said, "Please come forward."

I realized that six…pithi? had materialized next to Iris' feet. She bent down and handed Grover the next jar. It was pure ebony with swirls of azure.

"The scent is unbelievable," Grover whispered to me, "I've never smelled anything like it before."

"Is it like the boy's locker room at Yancy?" I asked innocently.

Grover's eyes widened, "It's much, much worse."

Okay, that really sucks. I'm glad I'm not a satyr. But Grover's and the other satyr's expressions got me wondering-exactly how strong are these wraths? I glanced at the crowd of demigods. Tyson was pinching his nose, his face contorted into a disgusted expression. Couldn't Cyclopes also smell monsters, too?

The other satyrs took the jars, each one with a frightened expression. I noticed, however, that none of them were shaking as terribly as Winter's satyr. Winter had taken the _pithos_ into his own hands and his satyr was shuddering a bit less.

"Next, the wrath hunters must carefully select a team of demigods that will hunt the wrath with them. The team will be required to be ready in three days time and depart to track their wrath and destroy it. Of how you approach in destroying your wrath, it will be up to the hunters," she said, "I have done my task and must now depart. Good luck, half-bloods."

"Wait," I said, "Why did you come? You don't have to be here to deliver an Iris message."

"You see, Percy," she said, "That _pithos_ are sacred to your mission. The gods put seven of them in my hands directly and put me of full responsibility of protecting them until the satyrs had them in their hands."

"Isn't that Hermes' job?" I asked, "Being the gods' messenger and all…"

"Lord Hermes is still busy settling the confusion and disarray of Typhon's destruction. It is an agonizing job, and I must go now to help Lord Hermes."

She whispered something in Chiron's ear and vanished with a swirl of rainbow mist.

"Please assemble a group of demigods, hunters," Chiron said, "Please use the next two days wisely to create a plan."

A plan-that would be Annabeth's job. I immediately went over to Annabeth and Tyson.

"You guys on my team?" I asked.

Tyson nodded excitedly. He had seemed to forgotten about the monster's foul stench.

"Of course," Annabeth said, "But what's up with all these people. And are those kids of Zeus and Poseidon?"

"Yep," I replied.

"What? How is that possible…?"

"Well, you know Nico and Bianca? How they got stuck in the Lotus Casino? Well, its Zeus and Poseidon put their kids there as well. The gods are kind of forgetful, and they didn't remember that they had kids in there until they promised to claim all of their kids."

"How many of the Big Three kids are there at camp?" she asked.

"Besides Tyson, I have two siblings: Nicholas Eston and Josie Vileguard." I pointed them out. "Besides Thalia, Zeus has five kids. There's Byron Rivers, Queena Karena, Ash Aslan, Jade and Alex Wong. Oh yeah, and Winter Shakler is the son of Hades."

"Was he also put in the Lotus Casino?"

"No, I don't know much about it, but people said he was kept immortal in the Underworld."

"Wow," Annabeth mused, looking around, "I really haven't been around for such a long time."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"_What?_" she asked.

"Huh? I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, right. You…

"Hello?" Tria said, coming from behind me.

"Oh, hey, Tria," I said, relieved I didn't have to argue with Annabeth anymore, "This is my friend, Annabeth. They're Grover and Tyson."

"It's nice to meet you all," she said.

"You have pretty eyes," Tyson said.

Instead of being disgusted she smiled and said, "Thanks."

Annabeth looked questionably at me.

"Tria is a new camper…like she arrived at camp an hour ago," I said.

"I was wondering if I could join your team to hunt Achlys," Tria asked abruptly.

"What?" I asked.

"Why?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

"Well, I remember how to use these knives," she said, gesturing at the weapons, "But I don't remember…well, anything. If I fight a few monsters maybe I'll regain some of my memories…I don't know..."

Shoot, how could I turn down a request like that? It was my fault she got hit on the head in the first place.

"Why do you want to be on our team? There are plenty of other teams to join," Annabeth said.

"I don't really know anybody," Tria said nervously, "Percy showed me around camp, so he's really the only one I know."

"What's that you said about losing memories?" Grover said.

"I don't…remember anything," she said carefully.

Grover, Tyson, and Annabeth stared at me.

"I'll explain it later," I said quickly, "But, sure. Tria you can join our team."

"Thank you, I…" Tria started.

"SHUT UP, PINECONE FACE!" Queena interrupted.

"She's Queena, right?" Annabeth asked.

"Yep."

Wait…Pinecone Face? Oh shoot, Queen and Thalia were fighting…again. A horrible flashback of demolished buildings crossed my mind. I ran over to the screaming girls, not even sure of what I would do.

**Timoleon POV**

"It seems they're starting to plan our deaths, eh?" Idylla said.

"No shit, genius," my sister, Alice muttered.

"Don't be so mean," Alcander said.

"They're such a noisy bunch," Proteus muttered, "Two of the wrath hunters are already fighting each other. Do they really think they have the discipline to kill us?"

"'Course they do," Melanie replied, "Why else would they be sending a call?"

"Should we go on with the original plan?" I asked, "After all, there are people after us now. I don't think we'd make it on time."

"We're strong enough to eat…kill them all, Timoleon," Idylla said.

"Call me Leon," I said.

"Sorry, I forgot."

"What do you think, Proteus," Alice asked, ""You're captain after all."

"I'm not sure, Alice. What do you think, Obelix?" Proteus asked.

Obelix dug a hole in the beach with his sword.

"There are a lot of demigods," Obelix remarked, "It all of them come to the seven of us, we might be in trouble. We should separate-go where they would assume we would be."

"Our birthplaces?" Alice asked.

"That means I'll be going back to dad's ranch," Melanie said, "I miss those cannibalistic horses."

"Alice and I can't go back to our mom," I said, "Skylla would eat us."

"Go to an island near it, then," Obelix said, "Proteus, do you know where to go? Since, you know…"

"Yeah, I'll find a place."

A flash of lightning appeared in the puddle of water on the ground. Through the water we could see what was going in the camp of demigods that were trying to kill us.

"They're really fighting now," Melanie said, "They're even using their Zeus-iness powers to try disintegrating each other."

"Doesn't he look like Proteus?" Alcander said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Boy who steal Daddy's wife. Is he called Prissy?"

"Percy," Proteus corrected, "His father is also Poseidon."

"That girl on his team…Tria? Doesn't she also kinda look like you, Proteus?" Melanie asked.

I peered closely at the girl with silver-green eyes. As far as I saw, I couldn't see the resemblance.

"She doesn't look anything like Proteus," Idylla said, "You're hallucinating, Melanie."

Proteus said nothing, and he looked bored.

"We should separate now," Obelix said, "If you meet the demigods sent to kill you, take the pithos with your scent and burn it. After you're done, meet over here."

He drew an 'X' on the sand.

"We can't kill them?" Idylla complained, "I haven't eaten human in such a long time."

"It isn't necessary," Obelix said.

"Obelix," Proteus said, "If they don't understand why we are revolting, why should they have the right to come and kill us?"

"They think of us as monsters, Proteus! They don't actually know who we are. The gods are deceiving the hunters. We can't actually blame the demigods that are coming to try to kill us. The deities basically commanded them to do so."

"They look forward to killing us," Proteus hissed, "And if they kill us, you know some of us won't see the face of Earth again. You, Obelix whose mother is human, will be one of the ones who would stay in the Underworld forever if they manage to kill you."

Obelix flinched. Proteus' voice was dangerously tense. Behind his sunglasses, his chilling eyes glinted with frightening light.

"If they are so shallow as to kill us with delight, and not realize the painful and true reason we hate the gods-they don't deserve sympathy!"

Proteus turned to us. "If the half-bloods approach you…"

He unsheathed his knife and sliced through the water connection. The image of the camp faded into the murky water.

"…kill them."


	7. Chapter 7: Worthless Anger

**Chapter 7: Worthless Anger**

**Okay, not the best chapter ever, I'm sorry.**

**I'll try to make it up in the next chapters.**

**Oh yeah! I just realized I'd forgotten the Disclaimer thing-a-mobber in the past few chapters.**

**Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan…not me…I think u guys know that, but…I don't know...I would get arrested or something if I didn't put a disclaimer thingy up?**

**Thalia POV**

"Please assemble a group of demigods, hunters," Chiron said, "Please use the next two days wisely to create a plan."

With my new friend (which I had met literally two minutes ago) Dasan the satyr, I strolled over to Jade and Alex Wong.

"You guys on my team?" I asked.

"For sure," Jade answered.

"'Course, sista," her brother, Alex replied.

I glanced over at Percy. As expected, he had Annabeth and Tyson on his team. I had made sure that I had the same amount of team members that he did, so he wouldn't complain when I won our competition.

"Queena, who's on your team?" Chiron asked.

I turned to see the centaur talking to Queena.

"Besides…_this_," Queena scoffed, gesturing at the satyr on her team, "Nobody. I can handle the monster myself."

How brainless is this girl? Does she really believe she would be able to destroy the monster if all she had was the saytr on her team? She doesn't even remember his name! Let alone the monster's name! Her stupidity wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"You are underestimating the monster," Chiron argued, "This monster has the power to challenge an Olympian."

"You seem to have forgotten that _I_ am the daughter of the Lord of Olympians, but fine. I'll get someone else on my team."

She examined the campers like she was surrounded by rats.

"Nicholas!" she barked, "Come here!"

Nicholas Eston, son of Poseidon, walked reluctantly over to where Queena was standing.

"What do you want?" he asked warily.

"You're on my team. The plan is we follow the satyr's nose and I destroy the monster, okay? Okay."

"Whoa! Wait a sec!" Nicholas said, "I don't want to go and destroy a monster, why do I _have _to be on your team?"

"'Cause I feel like it."

I bit my lip, trying my best not to scream at her.

"Chiron?" Hector called, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

While Hector and Chiron talked, I continued listening to Queena's and Nicholas' conversation.

"Sorry, Queena, but I don't want to go hunting some random monster. Besides, I've only been at camp for five months!"

"Chiron said you had to be on my team," Queena retorted, "Satisfied?"

"Liar!" I snapped, no able to hold myself back anymore.

"Here they go again," Jade and Alex muttered.

"Chiron didn't command you to add anybody. You just want to torture Nicholas by putting him on your team," I said.

"Oh yeah?" she turning towards, "And who mentioned anything about torture?"

"Obviously it'd be torture. Nobody wants to be on your team 'cause you have no friends."

She flipped back her hair like she was on a drama TV show. Like anybody would add that ugly demon to their television show.

"_What_ did you saw, Thalia?"

"Maybe you're hard of hearing. I said that you-have-no-"

"SHUT UP, PINECONE FACE!" Queena exploded. This girl seriously needed anger management.

"I won't! So deal with it!"

A couple of campers started looking our way.

"Whether you like it or not," I continued, "I'm right. You don't have any friends. Like seriously, _nobody_ likes you-at all."

Queena yelled and held up her hand. Thunder boomed overhead and I knew what was coming. Instinctively, I held up my spear to absorb the lightning. Electricity arced around the weapon as my spear took in the lightning. Electricity arced around the weapon as I swung is forward. A bolt of golden lightning blasted towards Queena. She waved her hand and redirected the bolt. The lightning changed direction and hit the ground with an explosion.

"Lightning is supposed to be _fast_, dear sister," Queena sneered, "You're sullying our father's reputation."

"You want to see fast?" I growled. I held up my spear, willing my energy into it, "I'll show you fast."

No matter how reckless my actions were, I was ready to show her a piece of my mind.

"Stop!" a voice shouted.

A girl with silver-green eyes ran between Queena and me. I hadn't seen her at camp before.

"Someone could get hurt," she gasped, "Please stop."

I lowered my spear, deciding to leave the fight. The girl's plead reminded me of Artemis' words, _An unnecessary fight is as bad as a loss. _Apparently, Queena had different ideas.

"Stay out of this, new girl," Queena ordered, "This isn't your fight."

Queena pointed at the sky and I had realized what she was dong seconds too late.

"Move!" I yelled, but my warning was in vain. Queena's lightning bolt shot down and the girl disappeared in the explosive impact of lightning and earth. Thick smoke swirled around the electric collision.

"What the heck!" Percy yelled, "Why in the world did you do that?"

"You killed her!" Annabeth screamed.


	8. Chapter 8: Deceptive Identity

**Chapter 8: Deceptive Identity**

**Rush POV**

She hadn't died.

Since I was the son of Thanatos-the figure of death-I could see his image whenever somebody died. In the smoke, I couldn't see a single trace of my father.

"She's not dead," Nico di Angelo muttered.

Somehow the girl avoided the lightning-but I didn't see how that was possible. Light was one of the fastest things in the universe and Queena was known for her sheer accuracy. Did she miss…or was Queena just bluffing?

The gray smoke swirled around the lightning impact, disappearing in the pale blue sky. I waited anxiously and curiously to see what had happened to the girl. The smoke slowly cleared. I saw a pale shadow. Then I saw a clear silhouette.

The girl was still standing.

**Thalia POV**

The mysterious person who had rushed between our fight was standing next to a giant gaping smoking crevasse-where the lightning had struck. She looked completely shocked and was moving away from the lightning impact. I was still shocked and bewildered. How did she dodge the bolt? Could Queena have missed? Why did Queena summon the bolt in the first place?

"What is going on?" Chiron roared.

He galloped into view, looking disapprovingly at all of us. His eyes rested on me and Queena. His expression instantly hardened into a suspicious glare. There was a long and awkward silence. It seemed everybody was too shocked to talk. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Well?" Chiron said.

The girl cleared her throat, "I'm sorry for making such a scene, Chiron. I accidently surprised Queen and by instinct, she sent down a bolt to defend herself. Thankfully, she was kind and swift enough to redirect it so it wouldn't hit me."

What the…was this person serious? I stared at her bewildered. Did she just call Queena kind? After she was almost hit by her lightning? Oddly, her face betrayed no sign of untruthfulness.

"That's not…" Queena started.

Chiron looked at her.

"Uh…that's not a lie!" Queena stammered, "It's exactly what she said…instinct!"

"Is this true, Tria?" Chiron asked.

The person-who must've been Tria-chuckled, "Absolutely! If Queena wasn't as good-hearted as she is, I'd be a pile of ashes now."

Everybody stared at her in utter confusion and disbelief. Chiron raised his eyebrows, but Tria's words sounded surprisingly sincere.

Queena good-hearted and kind? Give me a break.

"Well, then...wrath hunters, be sure to be ready in three days," he said and trotted away. He paused and looked back, "Please try not to fight with each other."

"Tria, are you okay?" Grover said, rushing up to her.

She glanced at the smoldering crater inches away from her feet. "Don't worry, I'm alright."

"We were going to start planning the strategy today," Percy, who had also gone to see if she was okay, said, "But I think we better do it tomorrow. I mean with almost being struck by lightning and everything…"

I blinked. "What strategy?"

"For hunting Achlys," he said.

"The girly's on your team?" I said, gesturing at Tria.

"Yeah…why?"

I sighed. It was typical for Seaweed Brain to make things complicated. Who else was I going to add onto my team? I didn't know anybody else at camp. I knew Jade and Alex because my dad wanted to meet my siblings who were stuck in a casino for more than a couple of years. Byron was already a team captain. Ash Aslan, my half brother, was part of Winter's team. Could I add a Hunter on my team? No, none of them would bother to cooperate with Alex. I realized Percy was waiting for an answer.

"Huh? Oh, I decided we're competing against each other, I figured that the odds would have to be even. I decided that I'd have the same amount of people on my team that you do."

"That's fair," he grinned.

"Who's on your team anyways?" I asked

"Annabeth, Tyson, Tria, Grover, and me," he replied.

Well, if I didn't know anybody else at camp, it'd make no difference if I just got a random person on my team. I turned around and looked at the first person I saw. He was a somber looking dude with dark hair and green eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Rush," he replied.

Nice name.

"How do you fight?" I asked. If he was going to be on my team, I might as well learn how he fought monsters. It'd be easier to work together.

Rush patted the hilt of the sword hooked onto his belt, "I use a sword."

"Don't add _him_ on your team!" a random demigod called out, "None of his parents are even considered a god!"

I cocked my head and looked at Rush, waiting for him to explain.

"My dad's Thanatos," he replied softly, "The figure of death."

"What does he do?" I asked.

He bit his lip and looked at the ground, "He appears when someone dies."

His expression looked so sad and pained.

"Basically all his dad does is look cool," another demigod sneered, "Thanatos doesn't even do anything-he isn't even considered a god. Hades is the death god. Thanatos is just the symbol of death. I don't get why the gods gave him a throne."

"Angering a god isn't a very smart thing," Annabeth warned.

"What _can_ his dad do to us?" she retorted coldly, "Even if he did hear us, the figure of death can't do _anything_. Like Rush said, all Thanatos does is float around corpses."

I glanced at Rush. He was digging a hole in the ground with his shoes. He looked a little upset, but he didn't seem angry in any way. Mostly, he looked somewhat bored. Why wasn't he talking back at these people? I bit my lip, angry at the despicable campers. Rush gave me a look that told me not to get mad at them. I finally decided what I would do.

"You want to be on my team?" I asked.

The demigods around us gasped and looked at me in disbelief. Rush finally looked up-he looked pretty surprised. I grinned at the mean demigods' stunned expressions. It also felt pretty good to get rid of Rush's sad expression. Rush rubbed his messy hair. He seemed to be remembering something.

"Sure," he said.

"Don't worry," I said patting his arm, "I bet your dad's a great a guy."

He suddenly dropped back into that sad state. He shook his head like he was trying to shake off some sort of memory. He plastered back on a smile and looked back up at me, "Thanks, Thalia."

"No problem," I said, "I'm a pretty bad strategist, so if you have any kinds of plan then show me, okay?"

"Sure," he said. He pointed at me, "So, if I have any ideas, I go to the Zeus cabin?"

"Yeah," I said, "Today is Tuesday?"

He thought for a moment and then nodded. I scanned the camp, trying to find Jade and Alex. Once I found them, I waved them over.

"We meet at Cabin One on Saturday morning, nine o'clock, okay?" I told them.

They nodded their heads.

"Don't tell me I didn't warn you," a demigod said, looking distastefully at Rush.

Rush just turned his head and walked away. I sighed and shook my head. I was going to have to teach Rush some self-assurance.

**Percy POV**

It was so typical of her to add a totally random demigod to her team. I grinned, but of course, she was _Thalia_ after all.

"Who's that guy?" Thalia asked, turning to me.

"I dunno," I said, scratching my head. I watched the son of Thanatos disappear into the crowd. In truth, I didn't know Rush really well. I didn't even know his name until Thalia asked him. Nice name, though.

"Well, Percy," Thalia said to me, "Good luck with Achlys."

"You, too," I said.

Thalia turned to Tria.

"Thanks, Tria," Thalia said, "for stopping our fight. It was pretty dumb of me to get into a fight with Queena."

"No problem," Tria replied, smiling.

"I'll see you all later!" Thalia said, waving.

**Hades POV**

"The gods are letting your son go on this quest, I can't believe they are so foolish," Alecto hissed.

"They don't know about the prophecy," I muttered, tapping my finger on the arm bone that made the armrest of my throne, "I'd rather have it stay that way."

The Furies perched on my throne above me, reprimanding me about my decision.

"So are you still against your brothers, Lord Hades?" Tisiphone asked.

"No, it's just that Winter…he wouldn't do something like that. I trust my son."

"The prophecies don't lie, Lord Hades," Tisiphone said, "You should know this by now."

"Prophecies always are spoken in riddle, it might not mean what it seems," I said.

"_The god of the dead's son with visionless eyes,  
Accepts an oath decreed by the Lord of Skies  
He shall face the wrath child of the god of the sea,  
But the blind warrior will surely guarantee,  
The wraths and the immortal beings' confrontation,  
And Mount Olympus will be of annihilation_," Tisiphone echoed.

"Does that have many meanings?" Megaera nagged.

"Perhaps not many," I said, rubbing my head, "But, Winter…I know my son! He would never do something like that. He wouldn't allow the monsters to storm Olympus."

"Even of the evil stories you told him of your brothers?"

"Winter," I remembered, a memory that made me smile, "He always disagreed with me. He was a strong and confident soul. He believed the Olympians weren't as bad as I thought they were. He was one of the reasons I decided not to raid Mount Olympus with my undead."

"You are making a mistake, Lord Hades," Alecto said, "If Winter does fulfill the prophecy, you shall never be able to redeem your honor as an Olympian."

"I trust my son," I insisted.

The Furies were so annoying, even if they did make sense. Out of frustration, I let out a blast of obsidian energy that melted a tree made of diamonds. I let out a sigh of annoyance. It was irritating to be so confused. It was the right decision not to tell my brothers, right? Of course it was, they would hurt Winter if they knew. Hurt? That was an understatement. They would destroy my son.

Suddenly a change in the atmosphere interrupted my thoughts. I sensed a presence behind my throne. I stood and looked behind me. There was nobody except for the slightest aura of…someone.

"Megaera! Did you see something?"

"I did not see anything out of the ordinary, Lord Hades," Megaera replied.

I carefully examined the area behind my throne. There was nothing but the smell of dead and tortured cries. Mm, that was normal. I must've been imagining things. I shook my head and went to check on Cerberus.

"Did you get that custom-made red rubber ball?" I asked.

"Yes! We did!" Alecto explained

"Have my skeletal guards to bring it to Cerberus."

I strolled in front of the skeletons and started towards the three-headed dog. The crackling of bones sounded through the still Underworld air. I turned around and saw crushed bones and a giant red ball rolling towards me. I willed an orb of black energy to wrap around the rubber ball. It floated in midair surrounded by my magic.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"The guards crushed under the weight, Lord Hades," Tisiphone explained.

"Weren't they able to hold up the last one?" I asked irritably.

"Yes, but the other ball was quite smaller in volume."

"How big is this one?" I questioned.

The Furies looked questionably at the giant red ball.

"Perhaps a twelve feet diameter?"

"Next time we shall use five guards, not two. Because of the unfortunate accident, I'll personally deliver Cerberus' new ball."

I sighed and walked toward my three-headed pet. Taking care of the Underworld was hard enough, but now I had to constantly order custom-made red rubber balls for Cerberus. Eventually, Cerberus always ripped up the rubber toy. They had to be red. Once a blue one was given to Cerberus, and he didn't even bother to look at it. I rubbed my head. Maintaining the Underworld sure was hard.

**Proteus POV**

"Proteus, are you sure?" Achlys asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Who is it?"

"For now, you shouldn't know, but this person might help us in destroying Olympus. I just might have difficult time convincing the person," I replied.

"It'll be no problem for you. If the nice approach doesn't work, just force the person into doing it. Nobody can even face up to you."


	9. Chapter 9: Potential Troubles

**Chapter 9: Potential Troubles**

**Percy's POV**

Three days had gone by and my team was ready. For the past few days, Annabeth and I were planning our strategy for taking down Achlys. (Actually, it was me giving suggestions to Annabeth and Annabeth turning down ninety percent of them.) Chiron had gone up to me to warn me about something. He said that even though Achlys was a monster she appeared human. He told me not to be deceived by her appearance. That didn't really bother me. I mean, I destroyed Medusa, right? She looked human…well, besides having snakes as hair. Anyways, I was pretty confident my team wouldn't have a problem defeating Achlys. Annabeth, Tyson, Grover and I could practically read each other's minds when we were in combat. And Tria? Though I didn't know much about her, she was fun to hang around with and she was pretty handy with her knives. Naturally, she wasn't as good as Annabeth, but she was skilled.

"Where's Tyson?" Annabeth asked.

"He needs to get his club," I replied, "I think he left it somewhere else in camp. It wasn't in our cabin."

"His gift from Zeus?" Annabeth said, "That's right, he hasn't shown me it yet."

"Is that him?" Tria asked.

We turned to see a Cyclopes charging towards us.

"Yep," I replied, "You don't find many Cyclopes around here."

"Hey, Tyson! What's…" I started.

Then I saw his club.

"Whoa…" Annabeth and I gasped in unison.

"You like my new stick?" Tyson exclaimed, holding it out for us to see.

Tyson was seriously making an understatement. The 'stick' was almost as big as me and was made of glowing celestial bronze. The hilt was inlaid with bright jewels. There were spirals of silver circling the spikes adorning the club. The club itself seemed to be radiating light-as if it was blessed by the Lord of Skies himself.

"That's amazing!" Tria said.

"I know!" Tyson agreed eagerly, "It's really shiny!"

Uh…Tyson?

"Can I see it?" I asked, holding out my hands.

Tyson blinked and stared at me, "You can't see it?" he asked, waving it in front of me.

"No! I mean, can I hold it for a moment?"

"Sure!" Tyson said.

He reached over and plunked the club into my outstretched hands.

I don't know what I was thinking when I asked Tyson. Apparently, I had been so mesmerized by beauty of the weapon; I had totally overlooked the size of it.

He dropped the weapon into my hand and my body wanted to collapse. The club's weight had practically ripped my arms off.

"Tyson?" I grunted.

"Yes, brother?"

"Can you take it back?" I groaned, struggling to regain my posture. Tyson took the club from me and nonchalantly swung it over his shoulder.

"Where's Rainbow?" he asked.

I grinned, "He was waiting for you."

The waves broke and Rainbow and his friends whinnied happily. They were hippocampi-part horse and part fish. As strange as that sounds, they were actually really beautiful. They had the body of a horse, but the back halves were silvery fish tails. The scales twinkled in the sun with multi-colored light.

"Rainbow!" Tyson cried gleefully. He raced up to his friend and started petting Rainbow's head.

"Grover?" I called, "You're taking lead, okay? Follow your nose."

He nodded nervously and climbed onto the back of one of the hippocampi. He took a quick whiff of the _pithos_ and then tucked it in his pack. We quickly followed him and climbed onto another hippocampi.

"Everybody ready?" I asked.

They nodded in agreement. Almost at once, the hippcampi took off. I didn't know how fast they were, but riding on them was an exhilarating experience. The camp quickly disappeared from sight. Feeling the cool spray of the water, I clung tight to the hippocampus' mane. Sceneries quickly blurred by. Suddenly, I realized the waves were riding through had become unexpectedly rough. I started to open my mouth to tell Grover to change direction, but I realized he was just following the scent of the _pithos_, so I shut my mouth. All of a sudden, a giant wave crashed into my hippocampi. I fell into the rough waters and slammed against a rock. A horrible pain shot through my back. My hippocampus gave an unearthly squeal and I didn't need to read his mind to tell it was hurt. Calming the water the best I could, I fought against the waves and grabbed onto the injured horse…fish…you know what I mean. Gritting my teeth and straining all my muscles, I managed to drag the hippocampus onto the rock I had crashed into. Once I had caught my breath, I winced as I rubbed my back. There was still a slight throbbing pain from where I got hit. Luckily, the rock hadn't touched my Achilles' point. I sighed with relief and climbed over to the hippocampus. I recoiled with horror when I saw the creature's wound. A jagged cut sliced through the shoulder of the hippocampi. Crimson blood stained the iridescent white coat. I bit my lip and winced. How was I supposed to help him? I couldn't bandage it, the wound was too big.

"It's gonna be okay," I muttered half-heartedly, rubbing the hippocampus' head.

He whinnied weakly. I scanned the waves desperately for my friends. Four figures rode above the waves. I shouted and waved my arms. Fortunately, they saw me.

"What happened?" Annabeth exclaimed.

"We crashed into a rock or something," I stammered. I cringed, remembering. "I might've been paralyzed if it weren't for the Achilles' Curse. My back hit the rock."

Annabeth grabbed her pulled out a bottle.

"A healing salve," she explained.

She quickly knelt next to the hippocampus and spread the material onto the cut. I thought it started bleeding a bit less, but I wasn't sure. The wound was still bleeding profusely. I stood there awkwardly, feeling incredibly useless.

"Is Buddy okay?" Tyson asked worriedly.

"Buddy?"

Tyson gestured at the wounded hippocampus. "Rainbow's friend."

"I'm not sure if Buddy's okay," Tria said softly.

Tyson looked like he was about to break into tears.

"We might be able to help…Buddy more if we were at camp," Annabeth said, "But now…um…"

She glanced at Tyson and tried to find the right words.

"Grover!" I said desperately, "Can't you do some nature magic or whatever? Anything to help?"

"I can't Percy," Grover moaned, "I'm sorry."

"Someone could ride back to camp and get a healer," Tria suggested.

"We've gone too far," Annabeth said. She glanced at the roaring sea, "Besides, the hippocampi couldn't carry any of us through these waters."

"You could try praying to your dad," Grover said, "Get him to calm down the waters."

Tyson immediately dropped to the ground and started mumbling some words-praying to Poseidon. I kneeled next to him and tried my best to communicate with my dad.

_Okay, maybe it was my fault that I didn't notice that wave and Buddy got hurt. I'm sorry! But, could you calm the waters or something? Buddy's bleeding really badly and he might…_

I paused in the middle of my prayer. I bit my lip.

_…he might die. So, please! Give us some smooth water so we can get Buddy a healer. _

I was afraid to open my eyes. What if my dad didn't hear me? Unfortunately, I didn't need to see. I could still the roaring of the sea. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and sat there miserably. My team was silent, and except for the violent waves, all we heard were Buddy's whimpers.

"Wait," Annabeth said, "I recognize that island."

I looked up and saw a thickly forested island in view. I blinked. Was it there before?

"What do you mean?" Grover asked, "Have you seen it before?"

Annabeth frowned a bit, as if remembering something. Then she nodded. "It's where Asclepius lives. It's the island where the healing god lives."

"Isn't Apollo the healing god?" I asked.

Annabeth smacked me with her backpack, "Don't you ever study the ancient Greek legends?"

"Um…not really?"

Annabeth sighed. I rubbed my head, Annabeth's backpack was heavy. Maybe I didn't study the Greek stories much, but personally I thought the smacking was uncalled for.

"Apollo_ is_ the healing god, but he's also the god of music, poetry, prophecies etc, etc. Apollo had a mortal son named Asclepius. Even though he was mortal, he also inherited his father's abilities of healing. Asclepius healing abilities were so good; he could bring people to life. Zeus got angry and struck him lightning bolt, but before Asclepius could die, Apollo turned him immortal."

This took awhile to sink in.

"Asclepius can save Buddy?" Tria asked.

"Yes! If only we could get there. With Buddy's injuries and the rough waters, we could never get him to the island."

If going through the water was impossible, maybe we could go through the air with…

As if on cue, the sound of beating wings broke through the air.

"Flying ponies!" Tyson exclaimed.

_You got trouble, boss?_

_Yeah, _I replied, _I got injured hippocampus._

_This is a son of Poseidon? _Another Pegasus mused, _Yet he got hurt at sea. Demigods these days._

"You!" I exclaimed, "You're the pegasus from the cruise ship!"

_You've got a slow head, punk, _she replied

_It's my sister! _Blackjack said, _Her name is Missy._

I noticed that both of the pegasi (?) had the same coal colored fur.

_Hi Missy, _I said.

_Kay, enough with the introductions, Blackjack, _Missy scolded, _The hippocampus looks hurt._

_Sorry, sis. _

"Is there anyway you guys can get Buddy-the injured hippocampus over there-to that island?" I asked.

_Guido, you think you could do it? _Blackjack asked.

Guido groaned. _Why do you always make me carry the heavier creatures? The hippocampus is practically as big as the Cyclopes._

After some grunting, shoving, and pulling, we finally managed to get Buddy onto Guido's back.

_Can you fly? _I asked.

_Hardly._

Eventually, Guido managed to spread his wings and started to fly. There was enough pegasi (?) for all of us to ride, so we decided to let the hippoccampi to swim by themselves.

Quite quickly, we reached Asclepius' island, but Tria posed another problem.

"How are we going to get Buddy to Asclepius?"

"Uh…well, Asclepius is a god, right? So when we find him, he should be able to do some teleporting magic, teleport to Buddy, and heal him!"

_Want us to fly you to Asclepius, boss?_

_Nah, there are too many trees to fly. Flying over here, I couldn't see a building of any sort. If we fly, we won't be close enough to the ground to find Asclepius' place. _

_No problem, boss. Be careful._

"Let's go!" I called.

"This place smells of monsters," Grover complained.

"It's where a god lives; the island probably has monsters inhabited in it," Annabeth said, "Remember, you also have a _pithos_ with a monster scent right next to you."

We started through the forest. It was really dark on the island. Only traces of faint sunrays dared to peek through the dark canopies. I had to watch where I was stepping so I didn't trip over anything. I was known to be a clumsy person. In fact, I was watching the ground so intently; I didn't notice the homeless person ahead of me.

"Who is he?" Tria whispered.

"Who is who?"

I looked up and jumped. A man in ragged clothes sat at a tree stump. He was sniffling and seemed to be crying. It was sort of ironic because he was huge! He was probably taller than Tyson, his arms were like tree trunks, and he was built like a mountain. I probably shouldn't been fooled by his tears…

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Mousie!" he sobbed.

Mousie?

"My kitten…she's gone!" he cried.

A kitten named Mousie, totally normal.

"What do you mean?" Grover asked.

"Mousie climbed that tree," he whimpered, "A hawk might eat her. I'll never get her back."

"She climbed the tree?" Grover asked.

He nodded pitifully.

"I'll get Mousie," the nature-lover goat-man said.

"Grover, what?" Annabeth hissed.

"He cares for his cat, if I can get her back, it'll be the better for both of them. A monster might eat his cat," he whispered back.

"I kind of agree with Annabeth," I whispered, "Buddy is hurt, we should get to Asclepius as fast as we can."

"This'll be really quick, I promise."

"You'll get Mousie?" the homeless guy said hopefully.

"Yeah," Grover said, "She climbed this tree?"

It was a tall pine tree that stood parallel to another identical tree. The homeless guy nodded. Grover-with his crazy goat climbing powers-clambered up the trunk in a few seconds. When he finally got to a branch, he started climbing towards the top.

"Are you sure Mousie is in this tree?" Grover called. His voice sounded distant.

"Yes!" the homeless guy called back. I was surprised how strong his voice was.

After a while, "Are you really sure?" Grover yelled again. He sounded farther.

"I'm sure!" he called. He stood up and I stepped back. He looked even more gigantic when he was standing up.

"Just look a little more," he said.

Annabeth frowned. The homeless guy wasn't crying anymore, in fact, he didn't actually look sad at all, anymore…

The homeless guy jumped up and grabbed the two trees.

"Whoa!" I cried out, "What are you doing?"

He grinned and then started pulling down the trees.

"No way." My eyes widened.

The homeless guy was actually bending down the trees! Wait a second…

"He's Pitucamptes the Pine-Bender!" Annabeth shouted, "Get out of the tree, Grover!"

"Pitu-who?" I asked.

"A monster!" Annabeth shouted.

"I kind of know that!" I shouted back.

I heard Grover scrambling away and then a yelp. The homeless guy-I got to stop calling him that-grabbed Grover with his enormous hand.

"Let go of me!" Grover yelled.

"Foolish satyr," the monster said, smiling evilly, "You actually think I'll do that?"

"Let him go!" I shouted.

I uncapped Riptide and charged the homeless monster. He laughed and smacked me aside. I flew back and slammed against a tree trunk. I opened my eyes to see a blurry sight of Grover being tied to two trees. Each of his wrists was bound by some type of rope to the tops of the pine trees. My vision cleared and I could see him wincing and sweating. I suddenly realized if I didn't get him out his bonds, he would be ripped in two by the straining trees.

"Are you okay, big brother?" Tyson asked, running up to me.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I muttered, "How are we going to take on this monster?"

"He's called Pitucamptes or Sinis," Annabeth corrected.

"Does that really matter?"

"Okay, Tyson, Tria, and Percy will surround Pitucamptes."

"Let's call him Sinis."

"Okay, fine! While you guys attack Sinis, I'll cut Grover loose with my knife."

"I don't think Sinis has seen me yet," Tria said, "I'll go get Grover."

Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!" Annabeth shouted.

Tria darted behind the trees and disappeared. I grabbed Riptide and stood.

"Tyson," I said quietly, "Go behind him."

He quickly ran around to surround Sinis.

"You fools think you can destroy me!" Sinis bellowed, "I am Pitucamptes the Pine-Bender! Your foolish friend will die!"

I peered behind the giant and saw a flash of black hair behind the trees. Good, Sinis didn't notice Tria yet. Annabeth rushed in with her knife. Sinis turned towards her and swung his fist. She dodged by a hair's length and leaped backwards. Tyson barreled through and crashed into Sinis, knocking him down. Behind him, Tria drew a knife and started cutting at Grover's ropes. Sinis shouted and grabbed Tyson. He flung him aside and Tyson fell with a deafening crash. Annabeth and I rushed in. Sinis grinned and grabbed Annabeth's neck. I swung my sword but I didn't notice Sinis' other fist. Sinis dodged my sword. Suddenly a silver knife flashed out of nowhere. I leaped back to avoid being pierced.

"Tria!" I yelled, "Why did you…?" Sinis' punch flew past me and smashed into a tree. He turned around and glared at me.

"Run!" Tria called. She drew two knives and sliced at both of the bonds. The trees sprang up, slamming into the other towering vegetation. Tyson stood up and brushed off some dirt. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt. Sinis stepped back and noticed that it was one against four. He dropped Annabeth who fell to the ground coughing. He spun around and sprinted away.

"Come back here!" I yelled.

"No!" Annabeth rasped, "Let him go."

"Are you okay?" I asked alarmed. Her lips had a slight tinge of blue that was fortunately slowly fading.

She got onto her feet and sheathed her knife, "I'm okay. It's better if we don't fight Sinis."

Grover came over groaning and rubbing his arms, "Luckily I didn't sprain any of my arms. Thanks, Tria."

"Sorry, Percy," she said apologetically, "But Sinis would've broken your skull if you didn't dodge my knife. I don't think you saw his fist."

"I didn't," I mumbled. I felt really dumb for not seeing it, "Thanks."

She nodded, "But more importantly, are you guys okay?"

She looked at Annabeth and Grover.

"I'm okay." Annabeth looked at Grover, "You sure your arms are okay?"

"Yeah."

"Next time, don't go trying to find cats in the middle of an unknown island."

"I'll be more careful next time."

"Well, nobody got hurt…well, really hurt anyways. Let's keep going. Buddy's waiting."

**Nicholas POV **

I tucked my hands in my pockets, feeling extremely peeved. My ideal first quest wasn't listening to my cousin ranting every two seconds.

"…and then she stole my sword! I mean, what did I do to deserve that? Seriously…" she continued.

I sighed and examined an interesting looking rock on the side of the road. She finally paused in the middle of talking.

"What's wrong, satyr?" she snapped, "Why are you stopping, _again_?"

Sherman bit his lip and looked at the ground.

"Lay off of him, Queena," I said, "If you can find Timoleon, then you can leave."

She heaved a sigh and crossed her arms. "Can you _please _tell me why you're stopping?"

Mm, I didn't know she knew how to say please. But, I was getting a little curious, too. Sherman was stopping constantly and taking a whiff of the _pithos_. He seemed a bit scatter-brained and worried. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again.

"Don't worry, Sherman," I said, "If whatever you upsets Queena, I'll stop her from killing you."

He looked up at me and gulped, "Um…I don't…I don't know where we are."

"Of course you don't know where we are!" Queena exclaimed, "We're in the middle of nowhere!"

"I mean…"

He gave me a quick glance. I gave him a reassuring smile.

"I don't know where we're going," he said.

"What is that supposed to me?" Queena said.

"I can't find the…the um…"

"Go on," I said.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I can't find the scent."

"What?" Queena exclaimed.

"I can't smell Timoleon," he stuttered, "I can't find the scent that matches the one of the _pithos_."

"What the heck?" Queena shouted.

"Calm down, girly," I said.

"Don't call me that!" she said.

"What do you mean you can't find the monster?" I asked.

I gave Queena a look that told her not to freak out. She was struggling.

"A few minutes ago, the scent suddenly disappeared," he said quietly, "I thought it would eventually come back to me, but it…it didn't."

"Out of all of the satyrs, I have to choose the one that a damaged nose!" Queena muttered. She glared at Sherman, "So, what are we going to do _now_, satyr?"

**Finally got chapter nine up, yeah! Well, Missy the pegasus might seem pretty random, but there is a reason! In book 2, Sea of Monsters, Percy saw a black pegasus on the cruise ship. I noticed Percy called the pegasus a **_**she**_**. Now, Blackjack isn't a girl, so I decided to add a girl pegasus named Missy =)**

**From now on, I'll probably be writing from like eight points of views (the wrath hunters and a wrath) so it might get confusing, sorry :/ **

**School is starting really soon, so I probably won't be updating as often, but I'll try my best. **


	10. Chapter 10: Within

**I'm sooo sorry everybody! It took me like two months to get this chapter up! But I do have a good reason! Well, hopefully it is...**

**Anyways, my computer had a technological shut down and I lost all my files about the plot of this story, I lost all the chapters, so I had to start all over.**

**Also, school is shooting homework at me like crazy, so I hardly have any time to write.**

**And I'm just saying now that I won't ever give up on this story. Though at times I don't publish new chapters, it might seem like it.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 10: Within**

**Nicholas POV**

Honestly, I wasn't that scared. We could always go back to camp and ask for Chiron's help. I suggested this to Queena.

"No!" she exclaimed, "We can't!"

"Why not?" I asked, confused, "Chiron should…"

"I c-can't!" Queena interrupted. She rubbed her neck and looked genuinely exasperated.

"It's my quest," she said firmly, "And I'll decide what we're going to do."

"But, why?" I inquired, "Nobody'll be teasing you or…"

"I-I just can't," Queena interrupted shakily.

I raised my eyebrow; Queena didn't normally act like this.

"I can't," Queena sighed, "Look, we're just going to keep going in the direction we were before. Was the monster moving, satyr?"

"Um…I don't think so."

"See? We'll be fine," she said hotly.

She had regained that regal attitude of hers again, but her brows were still slightly furrowed and she tugged on her clothes like she was agitated.

"Queena?" I asked carefully, "There something you want to tell us?"

She bit her lip and looked at me warily.

"It's my first quest," she finally mumbled, "I can't afford to look weak."

"Look weak to whom?" Sherman asked, "We all know it's my fault."

"_I'm_ the wrath hunter," she said, "and the…the gods are watching. My father's watching."

"Even if you botch up this quest," I pointed out, "I'm sure Zeus wouldn't mind."

"Quit babbling!" she suddenly snapped, "We have to get going!"

I shrugged and followed her. As I walked, I thought about the break of arrogance Queena had made.

_My father's watching. _

Even though the Lord of Thunder wasn't exactly merciless, he wouldn't punish his daughter for messing up one quest if it wasn't her fault. Had something happened between Queena and her father? I glanced at the daughter of Zeus. Was she actually the arrogant, over reactive, and indifferent girly I though she was? Or was there something else within? I didn't know.

I closed my eyes and gave into a faint grin. I was pretty positive about one thing, though. Her aloof attitude was masking something…something that had happened in her past.

**Thalia POV**

"Dang, Rush!" Jade exclaimed, "You're good!"

"Thanks."

He shrugged like it was no big deal and sheathed his sword.

"No! I mean, you're really good. Alex is one of the best swordsmen at camp, and you're almost as good as him. That puts you at the top!"

He simply nodded and slipped on his pack.

"Now that we've practiced and tested Rush," I said, "I think we should start get going to Melanctha."

"Now?" Alex complained, "We just got off the plane and my ears are still plugged, I can't hear anything."

"Get up, you lazy butt," Jade said. She tugged on her brother's sleeve, "We got off the plane hours ago, so you shouldn't be complaining. _We'll_ hear for you, so grab your sword and let's get going."

Alex reluctantly retrieved his sword and lazily stood up.

"Where to, Dasan?" I asked the satyr.

He gestured toward the plains to our left, "East."

My team trekked their way towards the barren lands. I kept thinking about Rush's reputation at camp. He _was_ really good with the sword; why did the other camper look down on his abilities so much? And why did he keep avoiding argument with the other campers. Alex and Jade didn't seem to mind him, but they didn't really count. They pretty much liked everybody.

_Thanatos doesn't do anything_, a demigod had said, _he isn't even considered a god. _

Did the demigods believe Rush didn't belong at camp? Could your parent be such a big influence? I grimaced at my ridiculous though. Of course it mattered. Some people respected me just because my father was Zeus, not for who I was. I struggled to remember if Thanatos had ever committed any sort of crime or anything bad in Greek history, but I have to admit I couldn't even remember Thanatos' name ever _mentioned. _

"Thalia," Jade whispered, "Something wrong?"

I glanced at Rush, who was only a few feet away, "Tell you later."

She nodded and then froze. I followed her wide-opened stare and saw some of the strangest people that I'd ever seen. Though dirty and ragged, they had a fairly humanoid shape…except for one thing. They all had six arms. They didn't have to worry about custom-made shirts because most of them were just wearing loincloths. Even though it was hard not to notice their multiple arms, I still noticed the vicious glares they gave us.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He had a strange accent, but I couldn't pinpoint where it was from.

"We're on a quest," I replied.

"Demigods, eh?" another bearded man muttered.

"Just because you have god blood doesn't mean you can invade our land," someone accused.

"We're not going to do anything," I argued, "We just have to go through so we can get to a monster."

"Yeah, right," he said, sounding amused.

I sighed and closed my eyes. What was I supposed to do?

"How is this _your_ land?" I attempted to ask, "It's not like you own it."

The tribe snickered.

"Land of the Gegenees," a mutant said, "I would think you've heard of it before."

"The Gegenees," Alex muttered, "Stubborn six-armed monsters. They'll never let us through. "

"We _have_ to get through," I insisted, looking at the Gegenees.

"You think you can just boss us around just because you're the half-blood?" a Gegenee said.

"Why won't you let us through?" I asked, exasperated.

"We just won't," he said, "So you better leave."

Small sparks of electricity that were generated by my annoyance flickered around me. I clenched my teeth and stomped my foot in frustration. All of a sudden, the front row of Gegenees had hair that stood up like they had been electrocuted. Not again! I had channeled my anger into my foot and accidently generated an electric field.

"Ay! She attacked us!" a Gegenee shouted, "Charge!"

"What?" I exclaimed, "I didn't even…"

"They aren't gonna back off, Thalia!" Alex shouted, "Get your spear ready."

I made a face and reluctantly materialized my spear. Swinging my spear forward, I summoned three bolts of lightning that disintegrated three Gegenees.

"Thalia!" Rush called, "That's enough! Stop fighting!"

What was he talking about? There was still a hundred Gegenees to fight!

Lightning bolts lit up the sky as Jade and Alex defended themselves. Rush wasn't doing anything except for standing there. A few Gegenees started charging Rush from behind.

"Behind you!" I shouted.

He grimaced and spun around. He sidestepped at the last moment and drew his sword. Instead of slicing the monsters, he knocked them unconscious with the hilt of his sword. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. They weren't Jade's or Alex's-they were still fighting. Raising my hands, I summoned an electrical field. I heard electric zaps as the Gegenees around me disintegrated.

Suddenly, I felt somebody grab my arm. I spun around to see Rush. His normally solemn face was filled with sheer panic.

"Let's get out of here!" he said urgently.

"Rush, why…"

Before I could finish my sentence, Rush sprinted off. He skidded underneath the Gegenees who tried to stop him and continued to run.

"Thalia," Jade yelled, "stop fighting! We have to get to Rush!"

I nodded in agreement and ran after him with Jade and Alex close at my heels. Alex tried to call Rush, but he seemed to be ignoring everything we said. What was going on with him? Abruptly, Rush stopped running.

"Hey, Rush, what's wrong with you?" I demanded more worried then angry.

He kept his back towards us and didn't reply. I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Dasan.

"Let's just camp out here," Dasan said, "Maybe he'll feel better in the morning."

"Maybe," I said reluctantly.

I glanced at Rush warily and went to set up camp.

"Hey, Jade?" I asked while setting up a fire.

"Yeah?"

I held out my hands and ignited an electric spark. The wood erupted in flames. Jade quickly tossed in some more wood.

"Do you know what's up with Rush?"

She sighed and sat by the fire, the flames deepening the shadows on her worried expression.

"I honestly don't know," she said, "You know, Rush was just one of those kids who hung around the corner and got teased. The only thing I knew about him was his father. Thanatos, right? The figure of death-appears when somebody dies. Apparently nobody ever sees Thanatos though."

"You know why the campers hate him?"

She looked up at the sky and frowned in concentration to remember.

"Well, I suppose it was because he wasn't very social or something, I don't know," she mused.

I thought about this.

"Did he ever talk back to the kids who picked on him?" I asked.

"Actually, now that you mentioned it, he never did. He never even _tried_ to negotiate or whatever, he just walked away."

"You think he's paranoid about fighting people or something?" I inquired.

"Nah," Alex said.

He dropped next to me and held out his hands toward the fire.

"He didn't hold back when he was practicing his swordplay with me," Alex pointed out, "I notice this kind of stuff."

We were all quiet as Dasan joined us. I didn't know what to think. Rush was like a closed shell, refusing to open. You couldn't see the pearl within.

**Rush POV**

Leaning against a tree, I stared at the sky. I spotted a bright constellation that looked like a figure of a woman.

"Mom," I whispered.

I blinked back tears as I remembered the incident. My father's angry words came back to me, _It's your fault she perished, you weren't strong enough._

He was right. If I had never fought with him, if I had just walked away, she might've still been alive. The memory of skidding cars and crushed metal came crashing through my mind. That crash. The shock. The blood and her soulless eyes…

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

I shut my eyes to try to block out the pain. Our team had already picked a fight and it was only the second day. Would we be able to complete this quest without any fights…without any deaths? As far as I was concerned, getting into battles was just a ticket to somebody's death. I myself had already caused a fight that meant her death. I didn't want to see the figure of death anymore. I didn't want to see my father again…I didn't want anyone else to die.

**Hector POV**

"This is creepy, Hector," Connor complained.

"It's late, so it shouldn't be surprising for you that the subway is empty," I pointed out.

"Aren't there people, like, always at the subways, though?" Travis asked.

"Maybe this city is different," Pan, our satyr said, "None of us would really know, though it is strange…"

"It's fine," I reassured them, "All we need to do is find the exit and find a hotel to stay overnight. We'll continue searching for Obelix tomorrow morning."

A shadow suddenly flickered past the tracks.

"Did any of you see that?" I demanded.

"I did," Ross replied shakily, "What was it?"

I unsheathed my sword.

"I don't know," I answered, "but that wasn't human. No human has the capacity to move that fast."

"Well, maybe Winter…" Connor mused.

"He's weird, though," Travis muttered.

"Connor, Travis!" I snapped, "This isn't the time to argue!"

"Sorry," they murmured in unison.

"I have a feeling this is a monster," I explained, "Be on your guard. Stay out of the way, Ross. You're our healer, if somebody gets hurt, you have to be there."

He gave a stiff nod and retreated behind the Stoll brothers. Holding my sword in front of me, I examined the empty subway. My eyes caught a flicker of a shadow. At the stairs!

I spun towards the silhouette, and gestured at my team towards the shadow. As I crept closer, I noticed that the figure had a snake-like shape. I paused in my steps and franticly tried to think of what kind of monster it could be. Snakes, dragons, serpents…serpents! Which serpent? I squinted more closely at the silhouette that was maneuvering itself out of the dark. I noticed the feathery wings folded across the snake-like. Wings, what serpent had wings? Wings, feathers, serpents, feathers, birds…the Basilisk Serpent!

"Look, away!" I shouted, as I shielded my eyes.

Connor and Travis managed to turn their heads as the basilisk's reptilian head emerged out of the shadows.

"What is it?" Travis insisted.

"The Basilisk Serpent!" I replied.

"Isn't that some sort of turkey?" he asked, "Wait! I thought that was a myth from European legends or something."

"The basilisk is some variation of a cockerel," I corrected hurriedly, "but that doesn't matter at the moment. The Greek stories have a basilisk of their own."

I glanced at the shadows on the concrete floor. The Basilisk Serpent was heading towards us slowly. It wasn't sure where we were yet because of its poor eyesight. I just needed to buy a few more moments to devise a plan.

"Get back," I hushed, rushing everybody behind a wall.

"The basilisk of Greek stories is the Basilisk Serpent," I continued explaining quietly, once everybody was behind the grimy wall, "One look from its eyes and you die."

"That isn't good news," Connor murmured.

"You can't get anywhere near the Basilisk Serpent because its poisonous breath is fatal if you breathe it in."

"What?" Travis hissed.

The sound of scales scratching the cement grew closer.

"The basilisk's eyes are its flaw," I hurried on, "Even though it has eyes that can kill its opponent, the basilisk isn't immune to its own gaze."

"Ross' mirror shield," the Stoll brothers said in unison.

"We can't just get in front of the Basilisk Serpent show him his reflection, though," I said, "We're in danger of its poisonous breath if we get to close. Listen close, this is the plan."

**Travis POV**

The Basilisk Serpent had eyes that could kill you with one look and a poisonous breath. You couldn't look at the monster because of his eyes and you couldn't get close to it because of its breath. Considering the sound of the scales scraping the floor, the Basilisk Serpent also moved pretty fast. Somehow, we had to destroy this monster without looking at it and without going to close to it. Our lives depended on Hector's famous capability to create genius strategies. If the rumors about Hector's strategist abilities were even a bit exaggerated…let's just say we wouldn't be getting out of the subway tonight.

**Obelix POV**

"What is it, Achlys?" I asked.

"You know I like to be called Alice," she complained.

"Mmph."

"Thought you might want to see something," she said.

"Wait a second," I replied

I excused myself from the room and went outside to the fountain. I examined the area to make sure no one was watching. The windows were closed and the garden was empty. I picked up my cell phone.

"I have a fountain," I said into the phone.

"Alright, you know what to do," she answered.

I lightly dipped my finger into the cool water of the stone fountain. The water gave a sudden flash of sapphire light. An image rippled on the surface of the water. It was a dark scene of four boys and a satyr hiding behind a wall. A monster was emerging from the shadows…it was the Basilisk Serpent.

"This is the team that was assigned to assassinate you," she explained.

"I recognize one of them," I responded, "The tall one is Hector Lunar, the son of Athena."

"Yeah," Achlys confirmed, "The two boys that look alike are brothers, Connor and Travis Stoll of Hermes. The boy with black hair is Ross Archie, son of Apollo. Apparently, he's an expert healer. The satyr's name is Pan."

"You've been watching them closely," I observed.

"Well, I've been keeping tabs on all of the teams," she replied, "With my ability, it's really simple. I already informed Melanie and Leon about the progress of the teams sent after them."

"You mean Melanctha and Timoleon," I corrected.

"She likes being called Melanie and my brother likes being called Leon," Achlys sighed, "Despite how smart you are, you really suck with names."

"Never mind about that," I said, examining the scene in the fountain. Hector Lunar was explaining to his team about the Basilisk Serpent.

"Why did you want me to see this?" I inquired.

"Well, with your brain, I guess you already know about the Basilisk Serpent," she replied with an air of what seemed like a smirk.

"That's true."

"Let's say somebody has his team stuck in a corner and he manages to come up with a plan in a few minutes to kill the serpent. His plan works and everybody survives. Would you consider that person a good strategist?" she asked.

I thought about the scenario she just described.

"I would," I answered, "The Basilisk Serpent does have its flaws in battle, but it's a rather difficult monster to defeat and the flaws are difficult to pinpoint."

"If this Hector Lunar guy manages to come up with a plan to defeat the serpent, I would say you'd have to watch out for his team," Achlys said.

"I will," I said.

"But seriously," she reassured lightheartedly, "if they even manage to get where you are, they'll have quite a battle on their hands."

"Never underestimate your opponent, Achlys," I responded.

"_Alice_," she said sharply, "and you sound like Confucius."

"Do you even know who Confucius is?"

"Shut up, Obelix."

My cell phone suddenly gave a series of earsplitting beeps. I glanced at the screen and discovered that Achlys had hung up. I tucked the phone into my pocked and watched the scene in the fountain water intently. How smart were the sons of Athena in reality? I would soon find out.


	11. Chapter 11: Tactics of Battle

**Well, just recently I checked out the new book by Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero.**

**And I realized that my story was basically the same plot as the new book ==**

**(The Lost Hero is basically about what's going to happen with the Great Prophecy...just like mine)**

**And I found out some of things that happen in the Lost Hero is somewhat similar to what happens in my story. (Well, maybe not, but it's just what I think)**

**I just wanted to clarify that I wrote up the plot of this story before I even knew there was such thing as "The Lost Hero"**

**Anyhoos, I know I haven't been updating very often, but I still hope that somebody is reading my story :/ (especially since that Rick Riordan comes up with what _actually _happens in the Great Prophecy) and I hope whoever is reading enjoys my new chapter!**

**(BTW, Percy will be in the next chpt, just in case any of you wanted to know)**

**Chapter 11: Tactics of Battle**

**Hector POV**

"Do all of you understand the plan?" I asked.

"Yeah," they replied in unison.

I braced myself against the cold stone wall and furtively peered behind it. The serpent wasn't near. With my hand still on the wall, I inched around it slowly. I watched the ground for shadows. A shadow of a feathery wing gradually expanded on the cement floor as the serpent moved closer. I gave Travis and Connor the signal that it was safe to move. Travis crept out with the mirror shield. Connor quickly darted far into the dark where I couldn't see him. A scaly tail whipped into view, as the serpent sensed Connor.

As silent as a stone, I drew a knife from my belt. Watching if the serpent had noticed me, I examined the shadow carefully for any sign of the Basilisk's suspicion. The dark silhouette of its scaly head was still angled towards the dark where Connor had disappeared into. The serpent hadn't noticed me yet. I slowly turned my glance up from the floor, praying that the serpent wouldn't turn his head towards me at the last moment. The back of the serpent's head came into sight. I quickly closed my eyes with relief. Then, I hastily examined the walls for the source of light. There! The faint light from above the stairs glowed from above my head. I soundlessly darted towards the place where the light landed.

The serpent still didn't see me. I crouched towards the pillar that had the sunlight shining on it. I held my knife out and carefully calculated the angle. I inspected the back of the basilisk's head as I angled my knife in the soft beams. The light instantly reflected off the silver knife onto the basilisk's head. The basilisk's head whipped around and I swiftly leaped behind the pillar, quickly concealing my presence. A threatening hiss echoed through the subway as the basilisk slowly slid towards me. I heard a layer of the pillar's stone crumbling away as the basilisk's corrosive breath burned into it. The next step of the plan…

I slid my knife along the pillar, creating a loud shriek that was like nails on chalkboard. I shut my eyes and prayed that Connor and Travis would be fast enough to execute the rest of the plan. Ross, though a brilliant healer of Apollo, would not have the ability to cure a curse of stone…if the serpent didn't burn me to ashes first.

**Connor POV**

An earsplitting screech echoed through the subway, signaling me to go. I cast my gaze to the floor as I sprinted forward.

"Here, you stupid chicken-snake thingy!" I hollered.

I heard a loud hiss as the Basilisk Serpent slithered towards me. Hector's distraction gave me enough time to dive to the floor and lay on the ground. Hector's hawk-like eyes managed to spot that the serpent's acidic breath floated upwards. Therefore, if you stayed close enough to the floor, you wouldn't breathe in the poisonous breath. I kept my face pressed against the cold cement floor and watched the serpent's scaly tail. The slithery body skimmed towards me. My heartbeat quickened as I anxiously waited. My breath was quick and uneven.

_Just trust the plan, _I told myself, _Just trust the plan._

I heard it inhale, ready to spray me with its bad breath. My next action would have to be executed in a split second. As the serpent unleashed the mordant gas, I instantly sprang off my hands, thrusting myself through the air.

"Travis!" I shouted, as I landed on my feet.

I caught the shield as it flipped through the air. I held the mirror in front of my head as the Basilisk Serpent turned towards me. The scaly body instantly recoiled back as it gave a startled hiss. My eyes widened. Had it turned to stone? I scrambled out of the way when I heard the serpent let out another belch of its corrosive breath.

"Connor," my brother stammered, "what happened?"

"The serpent's still alive," I managed to sputter, "Come on! We need to get to Hector!"

Hector looked confused as we scampered towards him. He examined our panicked expressions.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"The Basilisk Serpent didn't turn to stone," I explained.

"What part of the plan went wrong?" he questioned hurriedly.

"Nothing!" I exclaimed loudly, "I just…"

"Shh!" my brother shushed, "The serpent will hear you. We need the time, so keep quiet."

"I showed it the mirror," I whispered hastily, "Everything went perfectly."

"What did the serpent do?" he asked.

"I couldn't look at it!" I said, "How would I know what the basilisk did?"

"You must've heard something," he insisted, "Any sounds or shadows…"

I explained everything with as much detail as I could. When I finished, Hector was silent for a moment. He had the same face he did whenever he was thinking or constructing a plan. I had dubbed it the "game face". Whenever he had his game face on, it was like he was in his own world of plans and strategies. His eyes were always a bit distracted, like he was in a trance.

"The basilisk didn't see the mirror," he suddenly said, his eyes now focused.

"What?" Travis whispered.

"How is that…" I started.

"The Basilisk Serpent didn't look at the mirror," he interrupted, "If somebody had destroyed the serpent before with the same technique we just used, the serpent probably remembered. When it spotted you taking out the mirror, it looked away. That's why the serpent back away, Connor. It was afraid of the mirror you were holding."

We were going to die! Hector's plan failed! I was too young to die! My first thought was to bolt up the stairs, but the serpent was slithering right by it.

"Stone eyes and corrosive breath," Hector muttered, "We have to get rid of one of them."

"How?" Travis asked, "It's impossible! We can't even get close to it."

Hector suddenly tilted his head, listening to something.

"Get back," he whispered, gesturing us to move back, "The serpent is sensing where we are."

Once we were hidden behind another wall, I slid dejectedly to the floor.

"What are we going to do?" I asked helplessly, "There's no way…"

"We have to get rid of the basilisk's stone eyes or corrosive breath," Hector repeated.

"Why can't we just hightail out of here?" I asked.

"One, it'll follow us and kill the mortals outside or two, it'll stay in here."

"What's so bad about that?" Travis inquired.

"Look up."

We both turned our gazes upwards and gasped. The ceiling was steaming and stone fragments were disintegrating. Dust was falling from various places.

"Its corrosive breath is eating up the ceiling," Hector explained, "If we don't do something about the basilisk, the whole subway might collapse. And even if it doesn't, when the mortals come back to the subway during daylight, there's no doubt the serpent would kill them."

"So what do we do?" I asked desperately.

"We have to get rid of…" he started to repeat.

"I know!" I exclaimed, frustrated with his composure, "But how?"

Suddenly Hector stood up.

"What are you doing?" Travis whispered, obviously confused.

"I've thought of a plan. Stay hidden, I'm going after the Basilisk Serpent."

"No way!" my brother and I exclaimed, "We're helping you!"

"There's not enough time to explain the plan," Hector said firmly, "and I'm the fastest one here; it's by reasonable logic that I should execute the plan. Besides, there's less to risk if I do it by myself."

"Wait…" I began.

But he was already gone.

**Hector POV**

The Basilisk Serpent had enormous two advantages-its stone eyes and its poisonous breath. There was no way anybody could destroy the serpent in a strategic close combat situation. The poison would consume their body before anyone could finally destroy the monster. A close combat approach was too slow. A fast and accurate blow was highly unlikely, since you couldn't risk looking anywhere near the serpent's eyes. With those two abilities combined, it was almost an impossible task to destroy the Basilisk Serpent in a close combat.

I drew my crescent dagger- a gift given to me by a Hephaestus camper. Then, I strapped the mirror shield to my forearm.

In the situation I was in, there was no way I could get to a bow and arrow range fast enough to destroy the serpent. Besides, it was dark. I wouldn't be able to aim an arrow well in the shadows. Medium range with a whip or a chain mace was unreasonable. Without looking at the opponent, there was no way somebody could strike with a medium range weapon. The basilisk, however, had its toxic breath, which could easily reach me in medium range. I had to get close range.

Sprinting to the subway tracks, I made sure to keep my steps silent. The serpent had detected some source of movement, but it didn't know exactly where I was.

There was no choice but to fight in close range, but the serpent still had its eyes and its corrosive breath. I had to get rid of one of them. Getting rid of its eyes would be highly possible if the serpent had been asleep or knocked out. Unfortunately, I hadn't brought any knock-out gas with me. I had some Greek fire, but the basilisk would easily be able to spot it, and avoid it. Greek fire would also be useless in the sense of knocking somebody out.

The Basilisk Serpent spread its wings and hissed at its invisible enemy. I balanced myself on the subway tracks and kept myself hidden behind the ledge of the cement.

If I couldn't get rid of the serpent's eyes, I had to manage to liberate the serpent of its poisonous breath. I remembered one of the books I had studied back in camp. It was about the anatomy of a vast variety of monsters. The Basilisk Serpent had been mentioned. The serpent's poisonous breath came from two air pouches-like a second pair of lungs. The air pouches were located on either side of its esophagus. I concluded from the information that if I punctured the air sacks, the basilisk wouldn't be able use its corrosive breath. Then, I would have a greater advantage in defeating the monster. I couldn't charge headfirst with my plan; I needed a distraction first.

With my free hand, I grasped an explosive disk from my belt. I peered above the cement ledge and saw the serpent. Getting a better grip on the explosive disk, I thrust it about a few meters away from the serpent. Once it landed, the chakram instantly detonated. The serpent twisted away from the fiery explosions, hissing loudly. Quickly calculating the angle, I then flung my crescent dagger. It flipped through the air and then in midflight, changed directions like a boomerang and clouted the basilisk behind its head. It stuck in the scales for a few seconds before the basilisk flung it off. The basilisk was puzzled by the double attack, but the confusion would only be temporary.

Quickly taking advantage of the instant, I silently leaped off the subway tracks and ran towards the opposite direction the basilisk was facing. Making sure that I wouldn't see the serpent's eyes, I watched the area right below its head, my target. I sprinted up to the basilisk. I had managed to gain some distance before it noticed me. It spread its wings, ready to attack. I held up the mirror shield in front of me and the serpent instantly recoiled. I immediately hurdled forwards and threw my knife. It pierced the throat of the serpent. The basilisk shrieked as it shook its neck in a desperate attempt to remove the dagger. Its wings beat ferociously as it tried to stay afloat. However, the pain was evidently too much. It didn't have the strength keep flying. I felt a pang of pity and guilt. Even though it was a monster, it was probably feeling astonishing misery. I unsheathed my sword and swung it in a wide arc. The Basilisk Serpent stopped struggling.

The Stoll brothers ran up to me.

"What happened, Hector?" Travis asked.

I looked at the pile of emerald monster dust that was slowly blowing away.

"The Basilisk Serpent is gone," I replied, "for now."

I bent down, sifted through the monster dust, and retrieved my dagger.

"Let's go," I said, standing up.

I handed Ross his shield and turned towards Pan. "How far is Obelix?"

"I'm not exactly sure," he said, "but if there are no detours, we'll be able to get to wrath in about a week."

"For the time being," I decided, "let's find a hotel. It has been a long day."

"No doubt," Connor muttered.

As I walked towards the stairs, I accidently walked into a puddle. Gingerly stepped back, I started to walk around the pool of water I had stepped into. Wait, was it glowing? I blinked and it was a murky puddle. I frowned and crouched next to the puddle. Was that a face I had seen? The face wasn't my reflection. I was positive it was somebody with black tresses, not my blonde hair. Examining the puddle, I puzzled over what I had just seen. I was sure it wasn't just a play of the light. Despite my careful inspection, I couldn't spot anything that was strange about the water.

"Hector," Ross called, "what are you looking at?"

"Nothing much," I said, standing up. It was no use having them worrying about something that could've possibly been a hallucination. "Where's the nearest place we can stay the night?"

**Obelix POV**

Swiftly, I broke the water camera's connection. I grimaced and scolded myself. Had Hector Lunar seen the viewing mirror? I had almost revealed Achlys' ability. If he had figured out about…

"Mr. Biros?" a voice suddenly asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Professor," I replied, quickly standing. "I was just getting some fresh air."

"You were gone for a while," he said, frowning. "I was getting worried."

"I'm sorry, Professor," I apologized, brushing my black tresses out of my eyes.

He broke into a smile, "No worries, Mr. Biros. I need a helping hand, though, could you lend some of your time?"

"Of course," I replied. "What do you need help with?"

"Well you see, Mr. Biros…."

**Garry POV**

Byron laid on the river bank and the soles of his sneakers skimmed the surface of the cold water. I sat next to him and trailed my fingers along the rushing river.

"Shouldn't we keep going?" Felix asked.

"Nah," Byron replied, "We covered more ground then I thought we would, so we might as well rest for now. You know, working too much is also bad for you, Felix."

The satyr paced restlessly behind us. "I know," he said, "but it's better if we get this over with, right? I'm really nervous about fighting Idylla."

"Ever more of a reason to rest," Byron said, closing his eyes, "Let your nerves and your fears go. We can't face Idylla with a low confidence. Her manipulation will get the best of our weaknesses."

Byron sounded like a meditation master or something. I looked away and stayed silent. Even though Byron didn't know, I was utterly terrified about fighting Idylla. Byron had only chosen me to be on his team because we were friends and knew each others' battle styles. He was such a relaxed and good-natured guy. I was too frightened to tell him that I was nervous about destroying Idylla.

Suddenly, the river gave a great tremor. A gigantic wave of water had drenched my whole arm. Byron had noticed and was sitting up now.

"What is it?" Byron questioned, getting to his feet.

"It's a monster," Felix said, hefting his club, "I didn't sense before. I don't know why."

"It's coming from the river. The river muck probably masked its scent. Monsters do that sometimes, blend their scent into their surroundings," Byron said, slipping his golden ring off of his finger. "Stay back 'til I say, 'kay?"

Automatically, Felix and I backed away from the river. Byron twirled his ring on his pinky and waited. Abruptly, a white...blob flopped out of the river.

"Is that a worm?" Byron asked, confused.

"The Indos Worm!" Felix exclaimed.

"It's fat," Byron stated, as if he was examining a Harry Potter book.

The white worm that had emerged out of the river was thicker than a trunk of a red wood tree. It was as long as telephone pole and had thick flabs of blubber. Disgusting heaps of fat were being dragged across the ground as it slid towards Byron. My eyes widened and I cringed at the revolting sight. I backed up a few steps.

"Do you need help destroying it?" Felix asked.

"No thanks," Byron replied pleasantly, "but if it seems I'm having any trouble, feel free to jump in."

"Alright," Felix said, sounding disappointed. Unlike me, the satyr enjoyed fighting.

Reluctantly, he backed up and stopped on top of a nearby hill. I followed suit.

"Draw your weapon!" I called out to Byron. He was still playing with his ring.

"I don't want to startle my fat buddy here," Byron said calmly. "Don't worry, Garry, I won't be hurt."

The Indos Worm slid towards Byron slowly, not surprisingly, considering its gigantic size. It was almost ten meters away from Byron and he still hadn't activated his weapon. I struggled to keep my mouth shut. By now, I should've been able to trust Byron's tactics, but I was confused about what he was doing. Now, the worm was almost from arm's reach of Byron. Swiftly, he leaped up and disappeared. Where had he landed? Examining the worm's surrounding, I suddenly remembered a possibility. I focused my gaze towards the worm saw a figure standing on the top of its head.

"What is he doing?" Felix asked.

I smiled slightly and said, "Of course, I should've suspected. He's doing _that_."

"What?" Felix said, looking at me.

"One of Byron's strange but unusually effective tactics," I replied.

Felix hadn't worked much with Byron before our quest and he hadn't been able to quite grasp Byron's technique of fighting.

The Indos Worm was angling its head, trying to sink its sharp teeth into Byron. An attempt which was probably impossible considering Byron was standing _on_ the worm's head.

"Here, Fat Boy!" Byron called, stomping his foot where the worm's eye would've been.

You would think that stomping on somebody's head would hurt, but the monster had so much fat, it probably could only feel half of the actual pressure. At most, Byron's stamps were being annoying, which was exactly what he was probably intending. The monster was vainly jerking its head in different directions, trying to get to Byron. Byron, on the other hand, was jumping on the worm's head, which utterly annoyed the Indos Worm. Then, Byron steadied himself and even from the long distance, I saw the bright glint of gold as he activated his weapon. He thrust _Tonitrua_ into the worm's thick flesh. The Indos Worm violently twisted its whole body in an attempt to get the pesky human who had stabbed it. Byron propelled himself off of the worm as it fell onto its side. The Indos Worm wriggled as it tried to right itself, but it was stuck on its side. Byron waved us over.

"Is there a weak spot?" Byron inquired, as we came over.

"What are you talking about?" Felix asked.

"Well, now that Fat Boy is immobile, we can search a weak spot without trouble," he replied.

"You could've easily destroyed the Indos Worm with lightning," Felix pointed out, "Why not?"

"Getting electrocuted is painful," Byron said, explaining the obvious, "I prefer to destroy monsters with a less painful method if possible."

Looking at the struggling worm, I thought of something.

"If the worm is round, shouldn't it be able to just roll itself over?" I asked. "Why is it still stuck on its side?"

"It's too fat," Byron said. "Obese creatures can't get back up if pushed over." He nudged a flab of the fidgeting worm with his foot. "The fat of the organism flattens out and…"

"Alright, alright," Felix interrupted, grimacing, "We don't need the details."

Byron grinned and went to examine the other side of the worm for weak spots.

"I'm starting to worry about how laid-back our team leader is," Felix grumbled quietly, as for Byron not to hear.

"That's just how he is," I said. "You eventually get used to it."

"It's just…" Felix said.

He looked at the skies and thumped his mace against the ground. I expectantly waited for Felix to finish his sentence.

"…I would imagine the strongest swordsman to be more serious," Felix continued. He turned his gaze away from the sky but still looked away from me. "The son of the great Lord Zeus…he's different from his dad. The Lord of the Skies has quite of a…forceful demeanor. I'll just leave it at that."

"I always guessed that Byron reflected off of his mom. Don't worry. When needs be, Byron will be a leader. No doubt about it." Even though I said this, I myself was scared stiff about this quest. My own uncertainty of our quest wasn't of Byron's strength. It was about fighting Idylla…

The stern satyr managed to crack a smile. "I guess I have no choice but to trust you. Have to keep up my confidence to face Idylla's manipulation ability."

"Yeah," I said, forcing a lopsided grin, "keep up the confidence."

"You know, I always wondered how Idylla is able to control people. I mean, how is she supposed to manipulate your uncertainty and control your mind? Does she like persuade you with telepathic powers or…"

My thoughts instantly zoned out the satyr's voice and drifted to visions of cannibalism and mind control

"How about here?" Byron's voice interrupted my thoughts.

Felix examined the underside of the worm. "Not the mouth?" he asked.

"The teeth are blocking a clean opening of attack," Byron explained.

"I couldn't find a weaker spot," Felix agreed.

"Garry?" Byron asked

"Same as Felix," I replied.

Byron hefted _Tonitrua_, his double pointed weapon. The spearhead end glinted in the sun and resembled a gliding eagle wing. The sweeping edge of the spear could easily deliver a lethal strike. The longer end was a piercing blade.

The sword end of _Tonitrua_, or _Thunder_, was what Byron normally used in close range combat. He held _Tonitrua_ by a moon-shaped handle that connected the spearhead and the swordblade. _Tonitrua_ was a celestial bronze weapon that looked difficult to maneuver and battle with, but Byron was an expert with his weapon. Byron said he didn't remember exactly, but he was pretty sure he found the ring on the floor of the weapons shack. He later discovered that it was a weapon. Whatever happened, it sure was a lucky find.

Byron quickly slashed at the underbelly of the worm and it instantly exploded.

"Ugh!" Felix groaned, when a shower of monster guts rained upon him.

"I thought monsters exploded into dust," I muttered, wiping off the monster mush that was on my face, "not slimy guts."

Out of all of us, Byron was probably the most drenched in worm guts, but he didn't look paticulary grossed out. He swiftly twirled _Tonitrua_, transforming it back into a golden ring.

"It is monster dust," he said, after examining the monster remains that were scattered on the ground, "its just soaked in the oil of the monsters body. It's kind of like pancake mix. Add liquid and it turns mushy."

"I remember reading about that," Felix said. "Travelers of the past used the oil of the Indos Worm as a fuel for their lamps."

"Well, I don't think we're going to be needing worm oil anytime soon," Byron remarked. "Should we get going? I don't think any of us are in a mood for resting after fighting Fat Boy."

Still thinking about Idylla's monstrous abilities, I nodded.

**Ash POV**

To tell the truth, I didn't really want to be on this quest. Fighting monsters and Proteus didn't really intimidate me but Winter just made me uncomfortable. Other than his undeniable strength, he was practically a "nobody" at camp. He wasn't friends with _anybody_ back at camp. Even the Wong siblings, who were on good terms with everyone, didn't know Winter very well. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with Winter. Just being stuck with a super silent and blind guy for a whole quest was extremely awkward.

By exchanging glances with Josie, I noticed that she felt the same way. But because of Josie's pleasant demeanor, I could tell that she had less of a problem with a quest than I did. Not only did we have to go on a quest with the quietest demigod in the world, we couldn't even outwardly express our opinions to each other. Even if I was near by a shore that had deafening crashes of waves, I couldn't say a single word without Winter hearing. He had an abnormal degree of hearing. I'm sorry, I think he's creepy.

We had been trekking for about three days and we hadn't even bumped into a single monster. Basically, my quest to destroy the most powerful monster on Earth so far was following a blind guy for seventy-two hours. Very exciting.

I know I sound like a pouting brat, but I was honestly not keen having Winter as a team captain.

You probably figured that out already.

Since we hadn't fought a single monster in three days, I had become extremely cautious. While I was trying to find Camp Half-Blood, I encountered countless monsters. Why hadn't we seen any yet? Was it some trick? I was always on my guard for incoming monsters.

"Monster."

Wait, what?

"What did you say?" I asked.

"There's a monster," Winter repeated. "Get ready."

"Where is it?" I exclaimed.

Suddenly out of nowhere, there's a monster?

"It's coming in from behind you, Ash," Winter said, his sword already drawn.

Apparently, yes.

I spun around and realized that a gigantic pig was charging towards me. Swiftly, I drew my spear and smacked the shaft of the spear into the pig's head. Squealing, he (we'll just presume for now that the pig is a guy) suddenly reared up smacked me down with his hooves. The iron blow brought me to the ground and I felt heard an agonizing crack as my leg twisted underneath my body. I gasped with pain as I rolled onto my back. My vision was blurry as I saw the pig storm past me. Whipping my head around, I saw Josie.

"Get out of the way, Josie!" I yelled.

The pig was too fast for her to get out of the way. She put her hands up as a last attempt to shield herself and the pig knocked her to the ground. The pig reared back on his back legs, ready to crush her bones. Panicked, I realized I couldn't aim lightning at the pig. Josie would definitely be in the range of the bolt. As the pig brought down its powerful hooves, a wall of black energy crackled above Josie. As the pig crashed into it, the shimmering wall of energy shattered into nothing. The pigs' hooves clumsily skimmed off the remnants of the obsidian shield. When I saw Winter holding out his hands like he was casting a spell, it dawned on me that he had summoned the black shield. Infuriated, the giant pig charged at Josie again. Winter leaped in front of Josie and collided against the pig. Winter held the sword as a shield and shoved the pig away.

Suddenly, I realized this was the first time I had ever seen Winter face a monster. I was once again marveled at how Winter could maneuver with his blindness.

I quickly realized that a gigantic pig was still rampaging around. Painfully, I pushed myself up with every intention to demolish the pig in my mind. Shooting a lightning bolt forwards, it flashed past the pig by inches.

"Wait, Ash," Winter said.

"What?" I shouted. "It's a monster!"

"I realize that," Winter said, "but before engaging in a battle, one should negotiate with the enemy."

"Negotiating with a crazy pig?" I asked. What was Winter thinking?

Grudgingly, I cautiously lowered my spear. I took my first clear look at the pig. With a start, I realized that somebody was sitting atop the pig, like someone would ride on a horse. The old lady chuckled, her laugh sounding like an evil cackle.

"You wish to negotiate, eh?" the old lady said with a rasp. "Pity, pity, son of Hades. Your friends don't seem that it's a very good idea."

"Winter, this lady tried to kill us," I hissed. "What are you thinking?"

"I've met the spirits of her victims," he replied. "Concluding from information of their fates, I've decided that negotiation is the best idea."

Was Winter crazy? He had met people who were killed by this monster and her pig and he wanted to _negotiate_?

I tried to push myself to my feet but the pain in my leg was too much. Carefully, I probed the throbbing of my leg. I swore silently when I realized I had a broken leg. Winter noticed and quickly drew his blade. Questionably, I watched to see what he would do. He didn't seem to be trying to fight with the pig. He sliced his blade through the air and the empty space seemed to tear, a black slash spreading across the sky. Winter reached into the cut and drew out a crutch. Deftly, I caught it as he tossed it to me.

"Sir Edward Faray's crutch," Winter explained.

A dead man's crutch? Probably. I adjusted my weight on the gnarly support as I stood upright.

I cringed as I watched the seemingly malevolent grin upon the witch's face. Winter calmly sheathed his sword and approached the colossal pig unarmed. Well, he could still summon those force shields of his, but I had a feeling it wouldn't work with a gigantic pig and an evil lady that was a foot away. I exchanged uneasy glances with Josie, who was still on the ground, and tightened my grip on my lowered spear. If Winter wasn't going to take precautions, I'd just have to be the one that was going to watch out for our team's safety. Clenching my teeth, I watched the monsters distrustfully.


	12. Chapter 12: Search

**Sorry I haven't posted in like...I don't know, two months? Even I know that this chapter isn't that great, but I hope you can find some sort of enjoyment reading it.**

**Anyways, to make up for all the late updates, I posted a second chapter!**

**Not to this story, though. I made a quick one shot of a very awkward version of Percy Jackson. It's not that good but it's something to think about.**

**Chapter 12: Seeking Refuge**

**Winter POV**

"Hello, Phaia," I said.

"I see. You know who I am," she rasped in Latin.

She sounded like she desperately needed some water. Every one of her words sounded like a cough that was auto-tuned to sound like words.

"Quite," I said, converting to Latin. "May I inquire why you are speaking in Latin?"

"You speak the old tongue quite well," she rasped.

"You haven't answered my question," I said.

I felt the tremors of the ground as Ash shifted on his cane. I sensed anxiety in his movements.

"I speak the old tongue because I have a feeling that your…friends, shouldn't know what we are speaking of."

"What would that be?" I asked.

"Your fatal flaw, of course, _the god of the dead's son with visionless eyes_."

I flinched at the line of prophecy. "How do you know of the prophecy?" I accused.

"Don't you already know?" she rasped.

Suddenly a memory flooded my thoughts.

_"How are you?" I asked._

_"Well, its not too bad being dead," he said. I felt the air shift as he turned towards the Fields of Punishment._ "_At least I didn't up end up there."_

_"Is it strange being alive?" he inquired, turning back, "Being in the Underworld and all."_

_"Not really," I said, "I've been here almost my entire life."_

_"If you could go back on earth, would you?"_

_I sighed, "I don't think I would. You think I would be accepted up there?"_

_He chuckled good-heartedly and replied, "Unfortunately, you probably wouldn't. The demigods up there are actually pretty nice but, you know, you're a son of Hades."_

_He paused and then said, "You know it's kind of strange not to feel any pain. I can see my cracked ribs but it doesn't hurt at all."_

_"Your mortal wound?" I asked._

_"Yeah, from the Crommyonian Sow." _

_"I've heard stories about it."_

_"I bet you have, Winter. But ya know, I don't think the old lady actually wanted to kill me."_

_I paused to think about this. "Are you talking about Phaia?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Why would you think that?"_

_He tapped his finger on his chin. "Well, for one, the old lady seemed to trying to hold the pig back from killing me. And another thing…"_

_He put his hand on my shoulder and steered me away from the other spirits. _

_"She said something to me before I died."_

_"What?"_

_"Well, I don't know how to interpret this, but I was thinking you could help me with it."_

_"How?"_

_He chuckled and wafts of wind disrupted the air as he shook his head, "You're good at interpreting speech, quit being modest."_

_I grunted and folded my arms together._

_"She said, 'You don't deserve to die, but fate controls death. I may know what they know, but I can't change it.' What does that mean?"_

_"_Fate controls death,_" I repeated._

_"Yeah, do you know what that means?"_

_"I think I do," I said slowly._

_"Really?" he said._

_"When she says fate, I'm sure she's talking about the Three Fates. The Fates control death."_

_"So… 'I may know what they know' means that she knows what the Fates know?"_

_"I believe so," I replied. _

_"What does that mean?"_

_"She can read fate or destiny," I concluded._

_"She's like a fortune teller then!"_

_"Perhaps, or alike to an oracle. 'I can't change it' means she can't alter the future." _

_"Wait, if she has the power to tell the future, why is she considered a monster?"_

_"If I'm the same as any demigod, why am I considered a curse?" I counteracted. I didn't carry an angry tone, I was simply pointing out a fact. I had never really minded what people had thought of me. _

_"Oh, I see what you're saying," he replied. "I wonder if monsters are always going to be considered monsters." I sensed his gaze fix on me. "Or if people are always gonna hate on Hades' kids."_

"I didn't know your ability included recognizing prophecies," I said, frowning, "I thought only my father and the Furies knew of my prophecy."

"Oh, a few others know," she replied.

"Who?" I demanded.

"I can't tell you," she rasped, "but I believe we were talking about your fatal flaw?"

I clenched my teeth but knew that she had dropped the subject of my prophecy. Who knew of my prophecy? Not Zeus, or he wouldn't have let me on the quest.

My mind was still lingering on the subject when I asked my next question.

"Why would you tell me of my fatal flaw?" I asked.

"You have temporarily spared my pet of his curse," she said. "I feel I should thank you for that."

Even though Phaia was just known as an old lady who rode the Crommyanian Sow, she still possessed the care that all pet owners had. So much for being a heartless hag that destroyed anything that got in her way. I frowned as I thought of something else. Phaia also possessed the knowledge of seeing a few glimpses of the future. If she was so misunderstood, what about other monsters? Maybe Proteus himself wasn't really a monster. I shook the thought away. The gods wouldn't have come to mere mortals for help if they weren't sure of the demigod-wrath's status as an enemy of Olympus.

"Your fatal flaw is what may be your end, boy, not a curse," she said.

A fatal flaw, few heroes knew of their own fatal flaw.

"Your fatal flaw, son of Hades, is your blindness."

I shook my head doubtfully, "My blindness has strengthened my battle instincts, not weakened it.

The old lady chuckled a bit, "Not that type of blindness. You are blind to other's emotions and intentions. You cannot recognize who people are."

I frowned with confusion, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Have you ever tried to understand somebody's intentions?" she said.

"One's intention?" I asked.

"Yes."

"If somebody has a goal to achieve something, they shall only fulfill it if it is of their destiny. In truth, the purpose for any mortal is just to live and die."

"What is your intention for being on this quest?" she asked.

I faltered. Why had I taken this quest? If I hadn't taken the quest, whoever had taken it would've died…but why would I bother with that? If you die, you go to the Underworld and receive your rightful penalty. It was simply the way of life. But if the person died, Proteus and the other demigod wraths would overrun Olympus.

"I took this quest to maintain peace in this world. If Proteus isn't destroyed, Olympus will be, and humanity shall be of chaos."

"Are you sure?" she rasped.

"Yes," I said. I felt a light flutter in my throat.

"You do not acknowledge your fatal flaw," she said.

"I simply believe that what somebody wants or believes is not what makes a person."

"Then what does?" she asked.

"Fate," I replied automatically. I had been asked this question countless times in the Underworld. Agonized spirits who were confused and upset would immediately seek me out because I was alive. They would all ask the same question with soft twitters that a normal human wouldn't understand. 'Why am I dead?'

"Your fatal flaw…to be blind and oblivious to people's feelings and values, you believe it will not hinder you?"

"Of course not," I said. "Why would I have to acknowledge one's feelings? In battle, one's strength is all you have to understand."

"Do not try to defy your prophecy," she finally said. I felt the pressure on the ground change as the Crommyon Sow turned and lumbered away.

"Good day, son of Hades," she said in English.

"What was that all about?" Ash demanded.

"Nothing," I replied tensely. I was still thinking about what Phaia said about my prophecy.

I turned towards Josie. She was still on the ground.

"What's wrong, Josie?" I asked.

"My hands are…" she started.

What was wrong?

"What the - !" Ash exclaimed.

Ash rushed passed me and knelt besides Josie, "Her hands are crushed!"

He cursed quietly at the Crommyonian Sow.

I bent down and held out my hands. "Can you hold your arms up, Josie?"

She laid her hands in mine; they were sticky with blood.

"Yeah," she replied, "My arms are fine, but my hands…"

Gently, I probed different points of her hands. Thousands of fractures were present in her wound. Her hands quivered with pain. I lightly rested her hands down, reached into my bag, and pulled out some bandages.

"Josie, you can't heal your wound?" Ash said.

"No," she replied. "My healing centralizes in my hands. With it crushed…well its hard to explain."

"The magic core is interrupted," I explained, pulling my thoughts away from my prophecy, "Magic is either stored in a core or widely spread out. If the core is destroyed, then the magic cannot function. In Josie's case, her hands are the core of her healing magic. Her hands are crushed and therefore her healing magic cannot function."

"Is it from your collision with the crazy pig?" Ash inquired.

"Yeah," Josie answered.

Angrily, Ash slammed his fist into the ground. "What was up with that, anyways? Why did the fat pig attack us if it just left in the end?"

"The Crommyonian Sow possesses a curse, the Hunters' Curse," I said, wrapping the bandages carefully around Josie's hands.

"The Hunters' Curse?" Ash asked.

"The Hunters' Curse forces a being to attack or 'hunt' any living creature that shows hostility or fear," Neville, the satyr, explained. "The Crommyonian Sow is involuntarily attacking its victims."

"That's horrible," Josie whispered.

"Seriously," Ash muttered, "that curse is messed up."

I deftly knotted the end of the bindings. "Do the bandages feel alright?"

The weight of her hands left my hands.

"Yes they do, thank you," she said.

"Ash, your leg has a fracture, right?" I said.

"Yeah, in courtesy of the pig."

"You two have serious injuries," I said standing up. "We will have to find a place to stay and heal."

"I agree," Ash said.

Silently, I spread my senses across the land and examined our surroundings. Empty land, empty land, crashing waves…wait, a building?

"Ash, is there a building in front of us?"

"Yeah, but how can you see it?"

"I can sense the presence of things from the earth."

"Jeez."

Ash helped Josie to her feet and we started towards the building.

Once we had gotten closer, I could make out more of what the building resembled. Concluding from the weight, the building seemed to have about thirty stories.

"Is there a sign on the building?" I asked.

"Yes," Neville replied. "It says, 'Sea Stallions'."

"A stable?" I asked. How could it be? I couldn't smell any trace of horses…

"No," he said. "It looks like a hotel."

"Let's go inside," I said.

As we approached the building, I prayed that we didn't have to go to any of the upper floors.

**Josie POV**

My hands throbbed painfully as we walked towards the worn wooden door. Unconsciously, I lifted my hand to open the door. As I tried to hold the doorknob, my hand twitched noticeably from the unexpected pressure. I gasped with pain and held my hand. I sighed and told myself to get used to it. I wasn't comfortable with pain since I could normally just heal my wounds with a flick of my hand, literally.

"Be careful, Josie," Winter said, as he reached past me to open the door.

"You alright?" Ash asked.

"Yeah," I said, nodding, "I guess I'm just not used to having unusable hands."

Ash smiled and shrugged, "I'm sure you'll get better."

I nodded in agreement and followed Winter inside the hotel.

"Oh my gods," I gasped.

"This place is insane," Ash said in awe.

Pale clouds of cool colors swirled around the walls of multi-colored marble. The walls seemed to vibrate and glow with the dream-like colors. Pearly hued curtains floated around the stained glass windows. Expensive looking furniture made of sweeping pieces of ivory were scattered around the room. A woman sitting on a glass stool was playing a beautiful melody on a silver harp. A brilliantly crafted silver chandelier hung from the ceiling. Sparkling diamonds and pearls hung from the chandelier.

"Wow, I didn't know it looked like this from the outside. I guess you can't judge a book by its cover," Neville said.

Still staring at the room in admiration, I simply nodded.

"Let's see if we can get a room for a few nights," Winter said, apparently unaffected by the beauty of the room. "Do you know how quickly you two will be able to heal?"

"For me? Probably two weeks," Ash replied.

"Josie?"

"With some sea water, my hands can probably recover in three weeks," I lied. Actually, it would probably heal in six, but I couldn't hold my team back from completing their quest. I would just have to pray that the sea water would be able to heal my hands more quickly. Even though he couldn't see me, I quickly looked away from Winter's skeptical expression, uncomfortable with his ability to tell I was lying.

Ash approached a tall woman behind the counter. She had dark skin and curly short hair. Her shiny locks were intertwined with a large coral hibiscus.

"May I help you?" she inquired. Her voice was soft and sweet.

"Can we stay in a room for let's say, a month?" Ash asked.

"Do you children have money?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. "This hotel costs one hundred eighty dollars a night per person."

Considering the look of the hotel, that wasn't actually surprising. We probably should've considered the price. Ash had a "Wow, that was totally epic fail" expression on his face and he was stepping away.

"Yeah, um," he said, "I think that, uh, we'll be here, um, later? Maybe? Yeah, see ya later."

He turned to Winter and me.

"There is no way we are staying here," Ash said.

Winter shook his head and confronted the woman.

"I suspect you know who we are," he said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said slowly.

"Winter, you're gonna get us stuck in a psycho facility," Ash said under his breath.

"I believe you do, Centauride," Winter persisted.

Centauride? What was Winter…

"Ah, so you know who we are?" she said, stepping out from the counter. "As you know, we don't let anyone stay here if they aren't intelligent enough to recognize our species."

My eyes widened as she walked away from the counter. Her slim body was grafted on a sleek chestnut horse body.

"A girl relative of Chiron?" Ash asked.

The horse/lady shook her head and chuckled. "I guess you could say that."

"My friends are wounded," Winter said. "We only need to stay to heal. As he said, we might need to stay for a month."

"Of course," she said. "Come with me."

"Wait a second!" Ash said. "I have two questions. One, do we have to pay? Cause we have like no money. Two, this might sound a little rude but, um, what are you, exactly?"

The horse/lady smiled, "I'm a Centauride, honey-basically a female centaur."

"Oh!" Ash said. "That sort of explains things."

"And no," the Centauride said, "you don't have to pay. It's an honor to house heroes on a quest."

"Thanks," Ash said.

"It's no problem," the Centauride said, "Oh, and my name is Maria."

"Thank you, Maria," I said.

"Not intelligent enough to recognize our species," Neville muttered as he passed Ash.

"Ay, shut up, Neville, you didn't know either," he grumbled.

Neville shook his head and grinned.

I followed Maria to the back of the vast room to a glass elevator. The elevator was adorned with silver decorations. Soon we were swiftly descending up the floors. Ash pressed his nose against the glass and awed at the view. I was a bit nauseas from the increasing height, but the glimpses I caught of the many floors were amazing. The view from the elevator would've been breathtaking if I didn't have a fear of heights. Gradually, the elevator came to a stop. The glowing number in the screen indicated that we were on the eighteenth floor.

"How many stories is this building?" Ash asked.

"Thirty," Maria replied promptly. "Not all of the rooms are just bedrooms, though. We have nine deluxe spas, one floor just for our library, four gyms, a whole floor that's an arcade, a room for the spoils of war, and many more! In each hall, there's a map of _Sea Stallions_ and I'm sure that you intelligent demigods will be able to find your way."

"Thanks, Maria," Ash said.

"No, problem!" she replied. "Here's the key to your room." She waved and stepped back into the elevator.

Ash examined the glowing blue card. The shimmering letters read _1859_.

"Guess that's our room," he remarked. "Let's go! I want to see what it looks like!"

**Percy POV**

I stumbled through yet another clump of foliage and then paused. Breathing hard, I pressed my hands against my knees.

"Are you sure this is the island of Asclepius, Annabeth?" I asked. "This forest doesn't seem to end."

"I'm sure," she replied. "I just don't remember exactly where Asclepius lived." We had been trekking through the dark mess of trees and leaves for what seemed like hours and still hadn't spot a glimpse of Asclepius or civilization.

"Annabeth has a great memory," Grover said. "I'm sure she wouldn't mistake Asclepius' island for another."

But he sounded like he was reassuring himself more than reminding us of Annabeth's reputation.

"This island is apparently inhabited with a lot of monsters," Tria said, wiping sweat off her brow. "Asclepius might be in some really secluded area to avoid all of them."

"He's a god," I replied, my eyebrows raised. "He wouldn't need to avoid small-time monsters. It'd be simple enough for Asclepius to just destroy them."

Tria shrugged. "Maybe he's a nice god and doesn't want to kill them.

"Kill?" I asked. "You can't kill monsters."

Tria glanced at me hurriedly but then said, "Slip of the tongue, sorry." She looked at the sky, "I guess the heat is getting to me."

I sighed. Not only were my legs sore, no doubt everyone else was also tired, the sun was being relentless, beating on us insistently.

"Actually, Asclepius _is_ just a minor healing god," Annabeth said. "He doesn't possess the physical prowess of a normal god of destroying monsters."

"So he _is_ hiding somewhere?" I clarified.

"I didn't say that," Annabeth said. "I'm just pointing that out."

I sighed again.

"Look," Tyson said. "There's a house."

My head whipped towards the direction Tyson was pointing. Stepping closer, I peered more closely through the thick shrubbery. Two planks of wood stood out from natural surroundings.

"I see wooden boards or s–shoot!-," I yelled. I felt my foot catch behind a vine and I crashed to the ground.

Annabeth attempted to hold in her laughter as she helped me to my feet.

"Thanks for clearing the path, Percy," Grover said, grinning, looking at the flattened spot I had just gotten up from.

"You're welcome," I grumbled.

"Percy's right, though," Tria said. "I can see some sort of cabin from here."

"Let's go, then!" Annabeth said.

The only thing I can say about Asclepius was that he sucked at making first impressions.

"Freeze!" a voice yelled as we stepped into the clearing.

Startled, I jumped a bit.

The owner of the voice was dressed in a typical camouflage soldier outfit and he was holding a nasty looking rifle.

"Um, are you Asclep…" Grover started.

The scrawny figure suddenly dropped the rifle and he scrambled to pick it up.

"Darn technology these days," he muttered underneath his breath as we all stared at him.

"Are you Asclepius?" Grover tried again.

The man's head snapped up. "How did you know?"

He was actually quite small in stature. His army helmet looked too big and he constantly shoved it upright.

"I recognized this island from before," Annabeth said. "Hello, Asclepius."

"Annabeth!" the little man exclaimed. "Where are Luke and Thalia?"

Annabeth looked away. His face fell. "Oh, I heard about Luke…"

Annabeth shook her head and waved her hand, "Let's not dwell on that, Asclepius. I have an injured friend and…"

"Injured!" he exclaimed. "Who is…?"

"A hippocampus got scratched, badly," she said.

"How?" Asclepius asked, looking genuinely concerned.

She quickly glanced at me, "A sharp rock."

Luckily Asclepius didn't venture any further into the subject.

"Where is this hippocampus?" he asked.

"Near the shore," I said.

He looked at me and seemed to think about something. He shook his head, "We don't have time to make it there before night. We will go to the shore during the morning."

"No!" Tyson said. His expression was defiant.

"What?" Grover said. "Tyson, didn't you hear…"

"Buddy has to be healed," Tyson said with certain finality.

He picked up Asclepius and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Let's go!" Tyson said.

Tyson sprinted into the woods carrying a kicking and yelling Asclepius.

"Asclepius really is a weakling, isn't he?" I asked.

"He's not much of a fighter," Annabeth admitted.

"What was up with his outift?" I inquired.

"He needs to protect himself from enemies somehow," she replied.

I glanced towards the forest and realized Tyson and Asclepius had disappeared. My eyes widened. "Is Tyson seriously taking Asclepius to Buddy?"

"Oh no," Grover muttered, heading after them.

"Tyson!" I called. "Come back!"

Then an image of Buddy's wound flashed in my mind.

"On the second thought," I yelled, "run like an angry Annabeth is after you!"

"What?" Annabeth said.

Suddenly, I remembered that she was right next to me.

"Ah ha, well you see…" I said.

"Percy!" she yelled, grabbing for me.

Quickly, I twisted out of her reach and hightailed into the forest, hoping I would be able to find my way.


	13. Chapter 13: Dream and Illusion

**Yeah! Another chapter! **

**Anyways, I just want to thank everybody who's reviewed on this story and basically anyone who's reading it :)**

**And another thing!**

**I figured out (12 chapters too late...) that this story had too many characters and an inconsistent/confusing plot. (I apologize)**

**If anyone wants to know why Rush was acting so strangely against the Gegenees, just send me a message or a review and I'll send u a short excerpt about why he was acting like that. But otherwise, I won't add it in the story, because I've decided to cut out some scenes/situation that I planned to have. (trying to make the plot simpler)**

**But anyhoos, hope you enjoy the chapter ;)  
**

**Chapter 13: Dreams and Illusions**

** Percy POV**

"Thanks, Asclepius," I said, as the little man stepped away from the hippocampus.

"It's what I do," he said simply.

I caught the slightest smile on his face.

"Buddy!" Tyson said gleefully, rushing to him.

Asclepius backed up a bit and feigned a smile. "I'll be going now. Good luck on your journey."

He scurried into the forests and quickly disappeared.

"Don't think he wants to be carried away by Tyson again," I grinned.

"Or be chased by an angry Annabeth," she muttered, an obvious tone of threat in her voice.

I swiftly slid on Buddy, far from Annabeth's reach.

"You ready, Grover?" I asked, pretending to ignore Annabeth.

He cautiously sniffed the _pithos_ and looked up warily.

"We're close."

"We've got this, Grover," I assured him. "Achlys is going down."

The sky glowed with the shimmering aura of dusk as the hippocampi waded next to an island. I yawned and landed fast first in the sand. I was exhausted. I forced myself up and watched the glittering tails disappear into the breaking waves. Grover was looking off in the distance, the sun enhancing the shadows on his face.

"What's wrong, G-man?"

He didn't look at me but merely pointed to the distance. On the horizon, two rocks smashed together in violent waves, the clashing rocks.

"That island beside it, Achlys is there."

"Ah, don't worry," I said.

"This monster has the guts to face the gods," Grover said. "Don't you think you're taking this a little lightly?"

I grinned and shook my head. "I'm shaking inside, G-man, but there's no use worrying. Besides, Achlys is only one of the seven monsters."

"I'll try, Percy."

"Don't worry. Just get a good sleep tonight. I have a feeling we'll need it tomorrow."

I looked over at Grover. He had already curled up in the soft sand and was snoring softly. It's amazing what a Grover can do. I laid down and stared at the dark sky.

"So, what's gonna happen, gods?" I muttered.

I knew I should've been anxious for tomorrow's fight, but I was too worn out from the ride over the seas to feel worried. My eyelids felt heavy as the twinkling stars turned into an inky darkness of sleep.

I was standing on a rocky shore. The scene looked familiar. My dream-self slowly turned and examined the stormy surroundings. Harsh winds crashed against the monstrous waves. A woman in a white dress stood on a jagged rock in the middle of the storm. A small bundle was cuddled in her arms. A baby? What was a child doing here? The woman seemed to be staring at something in the skies. An eagle as large as a plane soared down from the skies and shrieked, shaking the cliffs. The woman lifted her hand and the sea rose behind her. The eagle's red eyes gleamed and shot down in a dive. She cut her hand through the air and the water followed her movement, crashing into the enormous eagle. It spread its massive wings and tried to resist the colossal weight of the sea. The woman swiftly brought her hand down and a hurricane of water swallowed the eagle. It gave a final shriek and disappeared underneath a violent splash of water. The woman ducked her head and sheltered the child. She hummed a lullaby to soothe the crying infant. The baby wailed as a bright golden figure flew down from the skies. It was another eagle, but this had a more…godly aura. The woman shook with fright but still tried to calm the baby with a quivering hand.

_Charybdis, you have defied the King of Gods and will receive divine punishment,_ Zeus boomed with a thunderous voice.

_No, Zeus! _Charybdis pleaded. _I was simply…_

_ Supporting your father, Poseidon, in the war? _the eagle interrupted. A chuckle that resembled the grumble of thunder sounded through the air. _You should've considered your decision twice. _

She trembled and unconsciously stroked the child in her arms. The golden eagle's head tilted as it noticed the infant.

_A child, hm? _Zeus' voice echoed, _Perhaps I won't kill you._

Charybdis face was flooded with relief and thankfulness.

_But that little child will settle for a mother in a different form, won't she?_

Charybdis' mouth dropped open in horror.

_Please, no, lord! I beg of you…_

_ You shouldn't have sided with Poseidon, _he said.

The eagle exploded into golden sparks. They connected with each other with static lines and slowly melded together. A small boy rushed out of the cave. He had curly black hair and bright green eyes. He couldn't have been more than nine years old.

_Mother!_ he shouted.

_Timoleon! Get back inside! _she desperately commanded.

_Get away, Timoleon! _Charybdis' voice was harsh but you could see the pain and sorrow in her eyes.

The boy's eyes were wide with fear but he obediently backed away. He didn't venture far into the cave but instead crouched next to a rock at the entrance of the cave. The sparks in the sky were now an arc of black lightning. It flew straight towards Charybdis. It crashed through her water barricade like nothing and into her. I tried to move. I had to help, what was Zeus doing to her? But it felt as if I was encased in Kronos' time spell and I was immobile.

Ebony static arced around her body and she fell to her knees, screaming in agony. The small boy was screaming and trying to get through to his mom, but the violent sea made it impossible. Charybdis' slender features were swelling and a repulsive film of black slime was constricting her movements. Random lumps bulged out of the unrecognizable creature Charybdis had become. Her agonized screams were no longer humanoid, but turning into a hoarse and distorted roar that sounded like an angry beast.

The monster that Charybdis had become was still clutching onto the child. The black slime hadn't reached one limb. A single slender arm that hadn't been engulfed by Zeus' curse.

_Timoleon!_ Charybdis' voice cried, breaking the monstrous roar.

The small boy was stunned and frozen as if he had been paralyzed. His eyes seemed to flicker in recognition of his mom's voice.

_Yes? _he replied weakly.

_Take care of her for me, _Charybdis' voice wavered, as if she hardly had the strength to support even her own voice.

A tentacle of water wrapped around the child and extended out to Timoleon.

_What's happening? What's happening to you? _he cried with a terrified wail. His feet were still rooted to the same place.

_Promise to take care of her! Promise! _her voice was barely audible.

The black slime engulfed her arm and across the tentacle of water holding the child. Timoleon stumbled forward and took the baby as the black gunk reached the child. His eyes flew open in horror and he quickly wrapped his arm around the baby. The ebony slime on the child plastered onto his arm. He winced in pain as the black slime burned into his arm. He looked at the child. She was crying but most of the black slime had left her body. Timoleon's arm had absorbed most of it.

He turned and looked at the sea. The enormous black monster, Charybdis, roared and sunk into the sea.

_I promise, Mother,_ he said softly, his voice dripping with misery.

As the sea swallowed up Charybdis, all there was a spray of sea mist.

_Achlys_, Timoleon whispered.

I woke up with a terrible start. A storm of thoughts whirled through my head. Charybdis? How could have Zeus created that monster? I mean, he isn't the kindest god in the universe, but he couldn't have created that monster. And the child, Achlys? That baby was the wrath I had to destroy?

I tried to convince myself that the dream was just an illusion, a false mirage. But my mind knew that my dream had to be real, I had the experience as a half-blood to know this. I wiped off the film of perspiration on my brow. What had happened, though? Surely there had to be a deeper reason for Zeus to turn Charybdis into a gruesome creature. Deep inside, I felt that I should've told somebody, but I couldn't. I shoved myself up from the sand. I was too anxious to sleep anymore. Besides, I don't think I wanted to sleep after that.

"Percy, you okay?" Annabeth asked. She sat up, looking at me worriedly.

"Yeah," I instantly said.

She looked at me warily.

"I'm alright, don't worry."

She still looked skeptical but seemed to decide to trust me, for the moment, anyways.

"You want to talk about Achlys?" Annabeth said, obviously implying the battle strategies against the wrath, but I couldn't help but think how close she hit to my dream.

"Um, actually, I was wondering…do you know how Charybdis became a monster?"

"Became?" she asked.

"I mean," I amended quickly, "Monsters don't just drop out of the sky, do they?"

We sat in silence for a moment as we thought of the Clommysanion Sow.

"Besides flying pigs."

"Actually, before she was a monster, Charybdis was a naiad."

"Really?" I said, trying to sound surprised.

"Yeah, she was the daughter of Poseidon. Well, there was this minor battle between Poseidon and Zeus. I think it was over some possession over land, or something, just a small issue. Anyways, since Charybdis was Poseidon's daughter, she obviously sided with Poseidon in the war. She would take possession of several lands for Poseidon. But then, Zeus started to think that Charybdis was taking too much land for Poseidon. He cursed her and turned her into a monster."

I was silent for a moment, not sure what to say.

"Percy, you know, it's not that bad. Charybdis was asking for it, taking so much land for Poseidon."

If she hadn't, though, what would Poseidon have done to her?

"I wonder what she was like before she was a monster," I said almost wistfully.

"Hm, that's a curious thought," Annabeth said, but she didn't sound that interested.

"You want to wake up Grover and get ready to fight Achlys?" she continued.

My heart skipped a beat as I imagined a small baby being hunted by a demigod. Namely, me.

"Um…I think that we should wait a while."

Annabeth raised her eyebrow. "Why?"

"Now that we're here, we can, um, survey the land and calculate the most proper battle solution against Achlys."

Time was what I needed after that dream. I don't think I could've handled fighting Achlys right after that vision. Annabeth was considering my 'suggestion'.

"Why not?" she said.

I held in a sigh of relief as she started pointed out different points of the island. While Annabeth contemplated over strategies, I had to compose myself enough to go against Achlys.

**Felix POV**

Byron swiftly drove his unique spear into the griffin's back. He glanced over at Garry.

"Garry, Idylla is nearby, right?" he said.

Garry nodded his head nervously. Sweat beaded on his dark tree-bark colored skin. The sun was shining really brightly, but I wasn't sure if it was from the heat.

"It's now or later, I guess," Byron said soberly. "Let's go."

I can't be nervous, I told myself, I can't be nervous. A list of reasons to be confident was run through my head. One, Byron was here. He was the son of Zeus and one of the strongest, if not the strongest, demigod there was. Two, Idylla had no physical prowess, her power was only manipulation. As long as I could keep control of my own emotions, it would be no problem overcoming her. Three, I was a satyr. If Idylla's ability was based on anything, even the slightest, of magic, my human-but-not-quite form would mess it up.

"Be on your toes," Byron, said as we ventured forward.

He had his hand curled into a fist around his ring. He hadn't laid out any strategy. Basically it was 'destroy Idylla at any chance you got'. Byron reasoned that if we had any of our resolve worrying about a strategy, Idylla would get the better of us.

"Oh, dear heroes, what brings you here," a beautifully melodic voice flowed through the air.

I could feel my brain floating away and I strained to focus. I turned to look at the monster we'd be facing. I felt my jaw drop. This was no monster. Idylla was a perfectly normal young woman, except for the fact that she was astonishingly stunning. Her blue-black hair flowed around her shoulders and her turquoise eyes twinkled with a lovely light. Her skin was absolutely flawless and she stood with a swan-like elegance.

Concentrate! I brought my mind back to focus. It kept wanting to be pulled away by her dreamy beauty. This is a monster, I fiercely reminded myself.

"Some strong souls, I see," she smiled with the perfect hint of shyness and sweetness.

I nodded dumbly. Felix! I thought. Draw your club. I struggled to hold out my weapon.

"My brave satyr. There is no reason do draw your weapon. How can I pose harm to you?" she asked.

My mind faltered. How could she harm me? She was just a nice beautiful lady. I took a tentative step forward.

"That's it, come forward, Felix, no need to worry," she said.

"Ah!" a voice screamed. Byron leaped forward with his spear and slashed out. Idylla ducked with snake-like reflexes. Suddenly, I realized what had happened. While Idylla was busy trying to manipulate me, Byron had been slightly released from Idylla's spell. He had taken control of the instance.

"Felix!" she cried. "Who is this tyrant?"

What was that evil son of Zeus doing? How dare he touch Idylla? I charged towards the boy and raised my club. His eyes hardened and he effortlessly blocked my overhead strike. He smacked my head with his spear.

"Felix! She's controlling you! Are you weak? You're weak! Being controlled pathetically like this. I thought you were strong. Apparently, I was wrong!" he shouted.

I was weak? No…Idylla just told me I was brave. Wait, Idylla was controlling me. _She _was making me weak. I swung out my club towards Idylla. I grinned, I had broken through her spell. Suddenly, in mid-swing, a gust of wind blew me backwards. I crashed into the ground.

"Don't hurt her," Garry said steely.

He was the son of Zephyrus, a wind god, so he had the ability to generate wind.

"Garry! She's a monster!" I shouted, trying to knock some sense in his head.

"A monster?" he said. "I'll destroy you for that insult."

He sliced his hand through the air and a whirl of wind knocked me against a rock. The wind was knocked out of me and struggled to take in short ragged breaths. Garry was advancing towards me when Idylla held out her hand.

"No need, Garry. Felix is simply confused. There is no reason to hurt him," she said soothingly.

He stood rooted in place, as if he was to her every command. "Come here, my noble soldier."

He followed. Idylla smiled again, but this time I noticed her fangs. Instantly, I remembered that Idylla fed on humans.

"Garry!" I yelled.

I pushed myself up, ignoring the intense pain in my back. The sudden movement pulled the ground under me. Before I knew it, I was on the ground again. I gritted my teeth. The pain in my back seemed to be multiplying. My vision was hazy and I couldn't see anything clearly. The dark figure of Garry approached Idylla. A bright flash knocked Idylla back. Out of my blurry vision, I could make out Byron standing over Garry.

"Get away!" he shouted, with unfamiliar ferociousness.

"Get down," Idylla snarled.

Her voice didn't have the normal coating of sweet honey. It was absolute ice cold and authority. My vision focused as Byron struggled to get up from his knees. It was as if another force was controlling him.

"Don't move, son of Zeus. You thought you were powerful? Against the power of words, you're helpless," she said.

This was an entirely different level of power and I could tell. Before, it was sugar and persuasion. Now, it was pure command and order. Byron was straining against the spell and was clearly exerting himself too far.

"Felix!" he shouted. "Get away from here! Send an Iris-message to camp, the other demigods, whatever! If I survive, I'll get to you. If not, you gotta help the other demigods destroy their wraths."

I sat frozen on the ground. How could I abandon them? We were a team!

"Go! Felix, now!" he yelled.

His expression had absolutely none of the happy-go-lucky guy before the fight with Idylla. He looked ragged and looked exhausted. But underneath that bedraggled exterior I could sense resolute, however desperate, determination. Somehow, I just had to trust him. I didn't understand his strategies and manner of deduction, but I had to trust him on this. I got to my feet and ran away as fast as I could.

"Stay!" Idylla shouted.

I could feel my strange satyr anatomy counteracting the spell. I couldn't resist the persuasion earlier since it was just words that hardly touched on enchantment, but now her demands required weighty magic. Magic and satyrs don't go very well together. Luckily, Idylla didn't know this. I heard Idylla seethe and as I turned back for a final glance, Idylla sprung at Garry, her fangs glinting in the sunlight. It took all my will to continue run. Byron had better somehow save himself and Garry from the situation. He _had_ to.

**So, how was it?**

**Hope u thought it was alright :/**

**I'll try to get the next chapter as quick as I can, but homework is being bombarding me and I'm already a slow updater ==**


	14. Chapter 14: Twist of Instance

**Hey peoples! So I know I haven't updated in about three months which is pretty bad **

**So...I hope you like the new chapter! The climax of the story is coming soon. (In two chapters, maybe?)**

**I can't guarantee that I will update sooner. But! I will finish the story. You might just have to check in in half a year's time **

**Oh yeah! When Mt. Tam is mentioned, it might be Mt. Orthys :/ **

**I'm not entirely sure. **

**Hope you enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 14: Twist of Instance**

**Felix POV**

Looming, jagged objects flew by as I fled from the mountain. The mountain where Idylla was. I gasped for air as I half-stumbled, half-ran to the edge of a cliff. Willing some energy, I slowly scaled the cliff face.

_Run!_ Byron's command echoed in my mind.

I leapt off the cliff. The earth jarred my feet as I landed. I took a quick intake of breath and started off running again. My chest throbbed from the exertion. Suddenly, my legs gave way. The rocks jarred against my knee, shooting pain up my leg. Resting my palms against the rocky earth, I took a moment to breathe. The scene of Idylla leaping at Garry flashed in front of me. I groaned and shut my eyes. I struggled to straighten my thoughts. What had Byron said? I struggled to remember. Something about leaving?

_"Felix!" he shouted. "Get away from here! Send an Iris-message to camp, the other demigods, whatever!_

"Iris-message," I muttered. "Send an iris-message."

I fished a prism out of my bag and angled it to the sunlight. Miraculously, my muddled thoughts managed to recollect long enough to remember how to send an Iris-message.

"Felix, what's wrong?" Percy said. His concerned face studied me. Did I really look that terrible?

"Um, uh, Byron…Idylla," I babbled senselessly.

"Whoa, Felix, calm down," Percy said. "Take a couple of deep breaths."

After I had some clear air circulating through my mind, I explained what had happened. Percy stroked his imaginary beard for a moment and then told me his shocking discovery.

"We just got away from Achlys. We were barely able to get away; we weren't able to destroy her. But, as we were away, some dolphins heard something interesting. Achlys was discussing some things with another wrath, Proteus. They said that they were going to gather all of the wraths and meet and Mt. Tam."

"Th-the mountain with Atlas?" I said.

"Yeah. The gods mentioned how the wraths might try recruiting some of the Titans and such. Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be important. Maybe you could try gathering some demigods to create a group to go after the wraths," Percy suggested.

"I'll do that," I said. _For Byron_, I thought. It was the least I could do.

After some discussion, it was settled that Percy's group would meet me. In the process of the fight, Achlys had destroyed their pithos, so it was useless to try and track her any further. Meeting all the wraths at Mt. Tam by themselves would be suicide.

"Until then," he said. Before cutting the connection he added, "Don't worry about Byron, Felix, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Yeah," Grover piped up. "Byron's the son of Zeus!"

I smiled feebly. "Thanks."

Percy smiled reassuringly and cut the connection. I shut my eyes, feeling strangely at rest with the prospect of having something to do. My bag had enough drachmas to connect with the rest of the teams. Queena's team, Thalia, and Hector said they'd be able to meet. Everybody else was either helping the injured or injured. Only two wraths, Melanctha and Alecander, were destroyed. These monsters were stronger then any of us had expected. Winter's team still had yet to meet their wrath.

**Winter POV**

"We _have_ to go," I insisted.

"But the Centaurides are so hospitable. I know it'd break their hearts if we left!" Josie argued.

"Their hospitality doesn't matter right now! The Centaurides don't matter!" I said harshly. "While we were here, we didn't do anything and all the rest of the teams have already faced their wraths."

"What?" Ash exclaimed. "We couldn't have been here that long."

"We were. We have to go_ now_."

"But-" Josie started.

"Now!"

It was infuriating. I realized my team members had to heal from their injuries, but they were already far from healed. The Centaurides seemed like they hadn't had a guest in centuries and were constantly pampering Josie, Ash, and Neville. I refused their hospitality. I didn't have time to drop my guard when we still had a quest to complete. I decided that _today _we _had_ to go. It was absolutely ridiculous we had stayed as long as we had. I supposed that my team members didn't want to hurt the Centaurides' feeling by leaving. However, right now it didn't matter and Felix's call reminded me of that.

"You have to leave? I'm sure you could-" the Centauride started.

"We have to go," I stated bluntly.

I lightly brushed past her and pushed open the door. Pausing, I waited for the rest to follow.

Josie whispered to the Centauride, "I wish we could've-"

"Josie!" I said. "Enough with the formalities. We are disrespecting the gods by taking our 'sweet time' with the quest they entrusted to me."

I felt reluctant human footsteps and satyr hoof steps shuffle forward.

The Centauride said, "Are you sure you-?"

"Yes," I said firmly without turning around. "Thank you for your hospitality."

I walked away from the hotel.

I could sense Proteus waiting for us. Why he hadn't met yet with the rest of the wraths at Mt. Tam like Felix said, I didn't know. What mattered now was I got my team to continue the quest. The first step was pulling away from the Centaurides.

"Winter totally hurt their feelings. We're being disrespectful to the gods? Winter could at least remember his manners," Ash muttered quietly.

"I can't believe him," Neville whispered.

I continued my pace. What I though wasn't the important issue. I sighed. Proteus was waiting.

**Poseidon POV**

"What is it?" I asked.

"That son of Hades!" Maria sobbed.

"Don't cry, dear Centauride," I said.

"We offered him and his team infinite generosity and kindness and he completely ignored our invitation."

"That's not too terrible."

"Not too terrible? He said that we didn't matter! I quote, 'The Centaurides don't matter!' How could he be so terribly insolent!"

"He's a bad guest, that's all it is," I said. I had to get back to a battle in the Gulf of Mexico. It was some sort of legion of serpents…

"Lord! When he left, he said that you made him leave. Is that true, lord?"

I snapped back into attention. "He said it was of _my_ command that he had to leave?" My voice rose.

"He implied it, Lord," she said quietly.

"The insolent son of Hades," I seethed. "HADES!"

My voice thundered through the halls. A light wisp of shadows slowly materialized into my brother.

"What?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Your son blamed his insolence on me!" I shouted.

"You're just overreacting. You always had a short temper."

"This is your son! Aren't you going to apologize for his insolence!" I demanded.

"Uh, no? If Winter did something, that is his issue. Besides, he's on an important quest. Whatever he did, it's probably because he stressed." Hades yawned.

I fumed. Ever since Hades was allowed on Mount Olympia, he'd been getting more and more arrogant. And now, his son had directly insulted me and he wasn't going to do anything!

I said, "If you aren't going to do anything about your insolent…"

"Why do you keep using the word 'insolence'? Your new favorite word?" Hades said.

"That doesn't matter! If you aren't going to do anything about your son, I'll present his punishment on my own."

Hades eyes flickered with uncertainty. My flame of fury still burned brightly.

"What punishment?" he demanded.

**"Well, I always wanted to bring back Perseus' greatest achievement, the slain sea monster."***

"The sea monster!" Hades exclaimed. "You can't summon another one! Perseus only managed to defeat it because of Medusa's head!"

"Ah, well, your son is so high and mighty. I'm sure he'll find another head to defeat this one!" I shouted angrily. How dare that lowly demigod insult me!

"Never mind about what I said earlier," Hades pleaded. "I apologize for my son's…insolence. I'll talk to him; reprimand him on respecting the great Sea God. Whatever you want!"

"What I want," I said slowly, "is for Winter to know the power of the 'great Sea God'."

Hades stood uncertainly. His eyes were filled fear and indecision. He bowed his head and shakily moved down. What was he doing? Painfully, he went on his knees.

"Please, brother," he said quietly. "Not Winter."

For a moment, I was stumped. This wasn't at all like Hades. I pressed my lips together. I regained my composure and laughed.

"The great Hades is bowing to _me?_" I taunted. "One of the Big Three isn't supposed act like this."

Hades looked up and glowered. "I do not do this willingly, brother."

"Whatever," I said. All I could think of was my wounded pride. Did that Winter child think that he could insult me and just get away with it? "I am summoning a sea monster for Winter to battle and you can't do anything about it."

"Immature child," Hades muttered.

"What!"

"I said, 'Invincible man,'" Hades said, standing up. "Since you won't back down summoning this monster, I'll make a deal with you, you stubborn man."

"What is it?" I said curiously. His attitude had changed dramatically.

"If Winter ever owes servitude to the gods, you can decide it if he loses against your monster. If he wins, I'll choose his terms of servitude, and you'll make sure the rest of the gods, especially Zeus, agrees," Hades said firmly.

"Why would Winter owe servitude to the gods?" I asked.

"You don't need to know. Will you agree to my terms?" Hades said.

"Sure, fine, but-"

"Swear on the Styx!"

I was taken back.

"Or are you too scared, brother?" Hades taunted. "You don't trust your monster?"

I was infuriated. "Fine! I swear to your terms by the River Styx."

Hades waved his hand and he began to turn into obsidian shadows. Wispy wolves and crows were shaped and dissipated.

"Wait! Why would your son owe servitude? You aren't telling me something!" I said.

"You're darn right I'm not," Hades said. He faded into nothingness.

I sat there baffled. Then, I curled my hand into my fist.

**Josie POV**

I followed Winter. I felt bad that I had hurt the Centaurides' feelings but I suppose Winter was right. We still had yet to fight Proteus. It was reasonable that we had to go. But still, Winter could've been a bit more polite. All I could see of him right now was the back of his head, his messy black hair that looked a little azure in the bright sunlight. He seemed even more solemn then before. I pursued my lips. Neville, Ash and me hadn't done much but avoid Winter and his silence. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do.

I shuffled sideways to avoid a jagged rock. On the seashore there were a couple of them. Suddenly, my head felt a bit dizzy. Holding my head, I glanced sideways at the sea. The water seemed to be churning more violently then before.

***Poseidon is talking about the ancient Perseus, the Perseus of Greek legend, _not_ Percy Jackson. Just to clear up some confusion x)**

**Yes! An epic battle between Winter and Poseidon's sea monster will commence in the next chapter. When? I cannot guarantee.**

**Hopefully, you enjoyed the chapter! Hope you stick till the end x)**


	15. Chapter 15: Nightmare

**Hey my lovely readers!**

**Another chapter :D**

**So, I hope you ppls like it...and enjoy it! (don't have much to say this time :p)  
**

******Chapter 15: Nightmare**  


**Queena POV**

_My dad was in a terrifying mood. Violent lightning storms raged across the country. His unquestionable wrath was more god-like then it had ever seemed. I flew across the sky into Mount Olympus. I squeezed myself into the corner of the throne room. It was amazing that I was able to withstand the simple aura of the terrorizing disposition. Well then again, it was a dream. Zeus' chin was clean of stubble. The scene I saw probably happened in the far past. _

_ "POSEIDON!" he roared. The whole room shook. _

_ "What is it, brother?" Poseidon questioned. His demeanor seemed calm but his hands were quivering. _

_ "What is it? What is it!" Zeus repeated. "You know well of what it is. One of my sacred islands was destroyed. No normal storm could've touched it. You will pay for this!" His stormy blue eyes flared with angry electrical sparks. His thunderbolt was crackling with more furious energy then ever before. _

_ Poseidon's eyes fearfully flickered back and forth from Zeus and the godlike lightning storm outside. Calmly he said, "It wasn't me."_

_ "WASN'T YOU!" Zeus thundered. An explosion of thunderous detonation was heard outside._

_ "You know my son Proteus. He has inherited much of my abilities. I told him not to but he was messing around with the sea. His powers were, and are still, unstable. Proteus destroyed your island."_

_ Somehow I heard Poseidon's thoughts. '_Surely Zeus wouldn't wreck his anger on a child. But even if he did, I can't take the blame for the destroyed island. He's so angry! Somehow, he'd surely damage my beautiful palace. Besides, I didn't know that island was his! I was in the middle of a battle, how did I know that his sacred island was going get in the middle of it?'

_I was taken back. How could Poseidon be so selfish? How could he lie? I glanced back at my father and I knew that something terrible was going to happen. Zeus started glowing with bright white light and exploded. Blinding light shattered the scene. _

_Suddenly, I was standing on a beach. It was stormy outside, yet a little boy was still outside. He was making a sand castle. He had curly black hair and peculiar silvery-green eyes. A bright flash illuminated the whole beach as Zeus appeared. The boy stumbled back from his sand castle. This must've Proteus._

_ "Lord Zeus?" the boy said. He suddenly recalled his respect and went on his knees. "What are you doing here, Lord Zeus?" He took a black cloth out of his pocket and tied it around his eyes. He must've thought his eyes could turn Zeus into stone. _

_ "You have wrecked havoc onto my sacred island, on the territory of the Lord of the Gods," my dad said with an angry, controlled voice. "For that-"_

_ "You have a sacred island?" Proteus asked innocently. _

_ "DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" Zeus roared._

_ Proteus tucked his head underneath his small hands, quivering with fear._

_ "For your absolute audacity, you shall be severely punished. However, if you repent, the punishment will not be as harsh. Do you repent?" Zeus demanded._

_ Proteus was quiet. "Please don't hurt my little sister and Mommy. Please don't, Lord Zeus."_

_ "You do not repent?" Zeus said, his voice rising. "You don't want your family hurt? Fine. You will never be allowed sight or contact with anyone of your own blood, and them, you! You will _never _be allowed to hear the voice of your family and they will never able to hear yours! As long as you live, you shall never live with the existence of your family again!"_

_ Black lightning arced from Zeus' bolt engulfing the small boy. Bewildered, Proteus tried to shake off the bolts of lightning. ._

_ "You have received a curse from the Lord of the Gods!" Zeus roared. He disappeared with a blinding flash of light. Shaking, the boy collapsed into the sand. There was a golden veil around the house. It must've blocked out all sound and sight of what was happening outside. _

_ A young woman's mid-eastern voice called out. "Proteus, are you still outside?"_

_ Suddenly, Proteus' body convulsed violently with black lightning arcing out of his body. He screamed in utter agony. I heard footsteps. Somehow I knew it was Proteus' mother coming out to check on her son. Drained completely of energy, Proteus sprawled on the sand. Clumsily, he ripped off his half-charred blindfold. He looked helplessly at the house and then in a split moment's decision stumbled onto his feet. He fled into the dark shadows of the night. Just as the mid-eastern woman stepped out of the house, the golden veil around the house dissipated. She rushed to the large patch of burnt sand and picked up Proteus' blindfold. It crumbled to dust in her hand. The pieces of dust spiraled into wild snakes and leaped at me. _

Wildly, I sprang out of sleep. I breathed hard, the scene replaying itself in my head.

"Queena?" Nicholas pushed himself up and rubbed his sleepy eyes. He stretched out his arms, blinking his deep azure eyes. He turned to look at me.

"It's nothing," I grumbled. However, I couldn't bring myself to go back to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, Proteus was engulfed by black lightning once more. Nicholas looked at me skeptically.

"Nothing means something, Queena," he said. Then, he looked at me strangely.

"What?" I exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"You got something…" He reached over and swept a few strands of my hair aside. His cool fingers barely brushed over my cheek. Then, he grinned. "You're always so fussy about your hair. It's strange to see you with a bed head."

Horrified, I covered my hair with my hands. It didn't look that bad, did it?

Nicholas chuckled. "You look fine, girly."

I pouted and put my hands down.

His expression turned serious. "Whatever dream that was, Queena, it had to be pretty terrible. But don't let it plague your thoughts, okay? You can't afford to be sleepless. We've got to meet with Felix soon." Then he grinned again. "Don't want dark circles under your eyes do you? The princess can't lose any beauty sleep."

I shot him snake eyes and threw my pillow at him. He chuckled and caught it.

"But seriously, if you need to talk about it, I'm right here." He tossed my pillow back. "Otherwise, just get some sleep. It's bad for you if you don't get enough sleep." He saw my fearful expression. I realized I was still thinking about that horrible dream. Nicholas smiled sympathetically. "It'll be fine. You're a tough princess. G'night, girly."

He tugged his blanket over his head and fell asleep. Suddenly, I realized that Sherman was still awake. It was his turn for the lookout shift.

"What are you looking at, satyr?" I demanded.

Quickly, he cast his eyes down.

"Oh, come on," I said, "I'll take over for now. Get some sleep."

He nodded and arranged his blankets. Almost instantly, he began to snore. I huffed. It was such an irritating noise. Proteus interrupted my thoughts again. I pondered over the dream. Why did I get the dream in the first place? I wasn't anybody special. Far below special, anyways. The most fantastic thing I've done in my life was disgrace…

I shoved the thought out of my mind, not wanting to think about it. Why didn't…Winter get the dream, or something? Could Winter see images in his dreams? Or was it just sounds? I thought of something else. Did Winter even dream? I frowned over the possibilities and gazed at the stars.

**Ash POV**

I noticed Josie glancing at the sea.

"What's wrong, Josie?" I asked.

"The sea is churning," she said.

I pivoted my feet to take a look. My feet were stuck fast. Bewildered, I looked at my feet. They had sunk into the sand. Hastily, I tried to jerk my feet out. My feet sunk lower into the sand. It was as if I was stuck in mud.

"Josie!" I shouted anxiously.

I lifted my head to see Josie flailing frantically. Her feet were stuck fast and she seemed to be sinking even lower. Bewildered, she looked at me. Suddenly, I noticed that I had stopped sinking. Right when I had stopped moving

"We must have wondered into something like quicksand," I said. "I think if you keep struggling, the quicksand sucks you down even more. We just have to keep calm."

Slowly, she nodded. I swiveled my head around to see Neville and Winter. Neville was sunk in the ground, frightened, but fortunately keeping his head. Winter was right beside him. I looked at Winter quizzically. He was standing on plain sand and wasn't in the 'quicksand' the rest of us were in. The sand around Neville's feet seemed no different but he was simply…stuck. I could tell Winter was confused too. He had a perplexed expression on his face, as he bent down to touch the earth.

"There shouldn't be any spots of quicksand, why are you stuck?" he asked.

"I don't know!" I replied helpfully.

Winter reached for Neville's hands to pull him out. Right as Winter touched him, the sand made a 'whoosh' sound. Neville yelped as the sand sucked him in like a vacuum. Winter sprang back. Neville was waist deep in the sand.

"What is this?" Winter said.

"Look at the sea!" Josie yelped.

I stretched my neck the best I could to see the ocean. I gasped. Wild outbursts and sprays were rocketing out of the water.

"What?" Winter said. "What is it?"

"What do you mean? Can't you…"

Suddenly, I realized that Winter couldn't sense the sea. His senses were only limited to the earth. Anything in the water, he wouldn't be able to "see".

"Is that…splashing?" he asked. I had never seen Winter so confused before.

I looked at the violent riptides rising up to twenty feet.

"Uh…yes?" I replied.

Abruptly, a loud roar resonated through the air. Winter froze, a look of fear and astonishment instantly replacing his confused expression.

"What?" I asked anxiously. "What's wrong?"

"It sounds like…Perseus' sea monster," he stammered.

Winter had never stuttered before but what I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around was what he said. Perseus' sea monster. The sea monster from legend? That the great Perseus couldn't even defeat without Medusa's head. How could Winter have recognized the sound? He must've heard the sea monster's spirit roar in the Underworld.

Instantly, Winter bent down and waved his hand around the sand that Neville was stuck in. He seethed. "Poseidon's aura is around this. He must have manipulated the earth to hold you in."

"But why?" Neville asked.

Winter assessed the situation. "I probably…angered him or something. Whatever it is, he wants me to fight the sea monster, by _myself._"

"But that's not possible!" Josie exclaimed. "You won't be able to sense the monster because it's in the water, and there's no way you can even _get _out there to fight it. It's not like you'll just _swim_ up to it."

Winter grimaced and took a few steps toward the shore.

"Winter!" I shouted.

"Lord Poseidon's not just keeping you from fighting," Winter said. "If I don't kill the sea monster, it might kill you."

"Wait, that doesn't make sense," Neville said. "For one, even if he did hate us, Josie is his daughter! And second, we're on a quest, he can't interfere like this!"

"Apparently he can," Winter said, and sprinted towards the water.

Right as Winter approached the ocean, a grisly head shot out of the violent ocean. It was as gray as smoke and its scales looked as rough as coral. It opened its mouth to roar again, and I swore a RV could've fit into its jaws. The monster's body was like a serpent's. Its snake-like eyes burned bright green. Winter skidded to a stop right before he touched the water. Was he chickening it out? I couldn't hear very well over the roar of the sea, but I could see Winter's mouth moving. Was he muttering some sort of chant? With a quick flick of a wrist, an ebony mist spread across the sea like a plague. He slashed his arms out in an 'X' and two shimmering black force fields pushed the sea in half. It was like a scene from Moses and the Red Sea.

**Winter POV**

Struggling from the exertion, I managed to push aside the sea. I solidified the energies to hold the sea aside. That would drain a considerable amount of my stamina. Not to mention the sensor I spread across the sea. Well, it was inevitable. Otherwise how would I sense the sea monster? I could hear the sea monster slightly, but the rest of the violent sea was too loud. The roars were deafening enough but the monster moved swiftly and silently through the water. It soared closer and I chucked a knife. The serpent twisted off its straight path. I knew it had dodged my knife. I grimaced. I had never fought an enemy in the ocean before. I didn't realize it'd be so hard. There was so much I couldn't do. The roaring sea blocked out most of my hearing senses, the sea muddled my ability to sense where the monster was, and the sea was confusing. It was like being stuck in the middle of an amplified New Y-

Don't be distracted. I took a deep breath. Just calm down. Attempting to block out everything else, I strained to focus on the sea serpent's sound. By the sound of the scales cutting through the air, it seemed as if the scales were as strong as a 15-5PH alloy. I slammed two summoned energy shields together above me as the serpent leapt down at me. It screeched and crashed against the energies. It landed with a thunderous splash to the left of me. I breathed hard and felt sweat bead on my forehead. Holding the sea apart and maintaining the sensor screen was more draining than I thought. Suddenly, the serpent disappeared. What? It couldn't have, I spread the sensor across-

It must've had gone underwater! Stupid! Why had I only thought of spreading it across the top of the sea? There was no time to spread the sensor underwater. Pivoting around frantically, I tried to hear the serpent. It was useless. The water muffled the monster's sound. Quickly, I calculated how fast the serpent had been moving earlier. Waiting a few seconds, I shoved the two energies holding back the sea sideways, hoping to keep back the serpent too. I heard a crash and the hiss of the serpent. The energy broke apart. The sea spilled around me, sweeping me away. Desperately, I tried to fight the raging water. Suddenly, sharp teeth slashed at my abdomen. I shouted out in pain, and the raging sea swept me under. I had never felt more trapped before. I could hear nothing and the suffocating water bound me. I could only feel my warm blood and the ice cold water.

So what? So be it. If I could only sense my blood and the water, I'd work with that. _Think, Winter, think!_

The sea monster was an animal, a creature. It worked off instinct. It was intent on killing me. It would target me. It would smell my blood. It moved fast.

Without thinking, I flung myself upwards. The rough scales of the serpent grazed the underside of my arm as it shot past me. Aimlessly, I pitched my arm downwards and it collided with rough scales. Clumsily, I found a hold on the serpent's scales. A particularly sharp scale cut into my skin, but I was determined not to let go. I could feel myself getting weaker, and losing consciousness. I had to end this now. Grasping the serpent with both my hands, with difficulty I summoned a dark magic. The magic I held within me but detested the most. The magic to drain life.

I muttered the dark curse and an explosion of adrenaline shot through me. The essence of life rushed into me. It collided with the plague of the magic and wilted. I could feel the bright spirit of life die within me. Flicker out. My arms were trembling from the strain of the magic. The remaining existence flooded through my hands. With the last bit of energy I could muster, I pushed myself away. Floating through the sea, I felt the tree of the serpent's life surrounded by the aura of my magic. It ate away at the tree like a sickness. A small shrivel of a sprout struggled to stay alive. Like demons of flight, the magic constricted the sprout of any chance of survival. It shriveled away and a beat of black energy pulsated within me. I let out a terrified gasp and water flooded my lungs.

**Whoo! Dramatic finish!**

**Hopefully, you'll stick around to find out what happens to Winter ;)**


	16. Chapter 16: Fallen

**Yeah! Another chapter :D**

**The story is going to reach the climax soon. :)**

**Um...not much anything else to say :/**

**So...I hope you enjoy the story!  
**

**Chapter 16: Fallen  
**

**Ash POV**

The sea suddenly fell still. The serpent was no longer thrashing. Where was Winter? I glared at the sand beneath me. Scowling, I kicked my feet viciously. The sand gave way and my foot flew out of the sand. I stumbled backwards but managed to regain my footing. Hurriedly, Josie stepped out too. We helped Neville, who was sunk to his waist, get out. Then, we rushed to the sea. Josie kneeled next to the now gentle waves, and swirled her hands in the water. The currents rocked to and fro. Suddenly, Josie started and drew the water towards her. A black-clothed boy washed up on shore.

Winter! I rushed to his side. He skin was even paler than before, and an ugly crimson gash bled across his stomach. He was unconscious, but his chest was rising and sinking unsteadily. Josie shut her eyes in concentration. A thin stream of water was drawn from Winter's lips. Suddenly, he twisted to his side. He convulsed, exploding into a fit of sickly coughs. I put my hand on his shoulder awkwardly, trying to calm him down. Eventually, his coughing subsided and we helped him sit up. He breathed hard, holding his hand to his bloody stomach. Josie helped to heal it.

Now that he was conscious, he was in worse condition that I thought he was. His black hair stuck against his forehead. His pale eyes looked sunk in, dark circles beneath them. He skin looked almost ghostly, and blue veins stuck out in his arm. He trembled constantly and took in jagged breaths.

Josie was busying herself. She willed the water from Winter's clothes, drying them instantly. His abdomen wound had stopped bleeding, though the gash had only faded to an angry red scar. Winter shook his head as she tried to heal his hand. Healing his stomach wound had left her out of breath. Neville helped bandage his hand puncture, Winter said hoarsely that it was only a minor wound.

Then, difficulty he stood up, staggering just a little.

"Winter, what…happened?" I said.

"The monster's…dead," he said with a slightly rasp. He coughed.

"Will it come back anytime soon?" I said. No way Winter could handle another serpent attack. I wondered if my lightning would suffice as a weapon. I wouldn't exactly be able to walk up to it and stab it with my spear.

"It's dead." Winter repeated. "It won't come back."

"What do you mean?" Neville said.

Winter ducked his head and looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

His expression almost looked like…shame. None of us knew what to say. Then, it was Winter who broke the silence.

"We still have to hunt Proteus. Let's go."

"With you in this condition!" I exclaimed. "No way!"

"I'm feeling better," he said quietly.

It was true that he was breathing normally, but he still looked sickly. He still looked tired. His hand wound was still bleeding, and I didn't trust that gash in his stomach either.

"But you can't-"

"I'm not going to let _great_ Lord Poseidon interfere with our quest. I said we were going to find Proteus and we are," he said.

"But you're in no condition to fight!" I shouted.

"I'm only a member of the team," he said. He turned away. "There are still three warriors to fight. We're going."

He walked away. Neville trotted after him nervously. I looked at Josie. She quickly turned her gaze to the ground and slowly, as if in pain, followed Winter's footsteps. I gripped my spear in anger and followed them.

Neville was leading now. He brought us around a cliff and put his finger to his mouth. That meant Proteus was right around the corner. Winter put on his own and gave Neville and me a mouthpiece. If Proteus decided to drown us (we didn't know if he could, but he as a son of Poseidon, it was a safe precaution) we would still be able to breath with the mouthpiece. Some magic mechanism allowed infinite air to flow through it when the occasion called for.

"Winter," I tried one last time. "Are you sure?"

He nodded grimly. A bit of color had returned to his face, maybe he _was_ okay. However, I couldn't help but feel bitter at Winter's…I don't know! Arrogance, valor, stubbornness? Couldn't he wait one more day? I took a quick intake of breath. This was no time to be wasting my energy on being angry at my team member. I tried to focus my anger on Proteus. No matter how twisted it might sound, anger was often a fuel I used in battles.

Winter pulled out his dagger and drew the landscape behind the cliff. A small 'X' marked where Proteus was. He was right beside the seashore. Winter didn't bother to say a word. We didn't know how sensitive Proteus' senses were. He could know we were there right now. We already knew the plan. Draw him away from the water, strike quickly. Neville sat against the cliff and nodded.

We had concluded that a surprise attack would do no good. Rushing in recklessly would prove a disadvantage to us. Reluctantly, Winter had agreed to letting Josie come out first. If Proteus decided on a long range attack, Josie would parry his water manipulation the best. I stayed behind Josie, Winter circled around the other side of the rock. The instant Josie crept out from the rock, a blinding blade of water slashed through the air. Josie, clumsily deflected it and it slashed into the rock behind us. Horrified, I looked at the vicious laceration in the cliff. It had cleanly cut through, almost four feet in. I directed my eyes back to the beach. A tall figure stood nearby the beach. Winter had directed an angle so that the sun would be right behind Proteus. We could see where he was without actually looking at his eyes. When it came to the fight however, we wouldn't be able to look at Proteus.

Striking my spear into the ground, I summoned a lightning strike. The blinding flash streaked at Proteus. A spiral of water shot at the lightning and directed it into the sea. I charged forward and swung my spear, spinning lightning off of it. The figure ducked with cat-like reflexes and swept his foot at my leg. I leapt and slashed my spear down in a deadly arc. A slick rope tightened around my ankle and jerked me backwards. I crashed into the ground. Twisting, I looked at my ankle. A swirl of water had bounded my ankle. Gasping, I looked desperately around for Proteus. A flickering black blade cut my bonds. Winter threw a volt of black magic at Proteus. Proteus flicked his hand upwards and a swell of water swept Winter off his feet. Spires of sparkling water flew around Winter, encasing him in an water orb. Helplessly, Winter tried to break out of the orb, but the water expanded wherever Winter struck the edge. Drops of sweat were beading on my forehead. I wiped them away, breathing hard. The air felt more damp and humid.

"The daughter of Poseidon and son of Zeus," Proteus said. I flinched. His voice was cold, ice cold. It was layered with callous suavity. Hidden within it was frigid malevolence and bitter vengeance. I could imagine his expression. Either an easy, devious grin or narrowed eyes and a dark scowl. "an interesting choice of comrades, Winter Shakler. Your eyes are blind." He chuckled. "But mine are…shall we say, special? This should be a _fascinating_ challenge."

Josie shot jets of water at him but Proteus flicked his hand and they splashed uselessly to the ground. He turned to me and I cast my gaze away. "Is it your turn, son of Zeus?"

I scowled. I wouldn't be able to attack him without looking at him. I decided to try to bait him to attack me. Then I would be able to parry. Quickly, I swiped at my forehead. The air was feeling even clammy and heavier with moisture. "You wouldn't be able to keep up with me."

"Oh?" he said. He chuckled. I froze at the chilling sound. "Then perhaps…I should try a different tactic."

There was silence and then Josie's yelp rang through the air.

"Josie!" I shouted. I couldn't help it, I looked up. Proteus had Josie locked in a chokehold. I gasped and stood up quickly. I made a split second decision. My lightning was accurate enough. I lifted my hands, ready to summon a lightning bolt, when a force knocked me to the ground. Viciously, I rammed my shoulder into my attacker. Not bothering to acknowledge who it was I slammed my fist into his gut. I shoved the black-clothed adversary aside and sprinted at Proteus. Proteus thrust Josie on the ground and swiftly turned towards me. He flew past me and I felt a pierce in my gut. I yelled and fell to the ground. A crimson gash was bleeding through my shirt.

"Ash!" Josie cried out. She pushed herself from the ground.

I realized that Proteus was still behind me. Time suddenly slowed. Josie lifted her head to look at me. I opened my mouth to shout at her to look away. Her gaze connected with something above me and she froze.

"NO!" I screamed.

I stumbled to my feet and rushed to her side, clutching my stomach wound. Vaguely, I realized that the air had suddenly lost its random humidity. By the time I got there, I only found a statue. Hysterically, I screamed her name. I yelled at her to come back. She couldn't have been gone. I could've saved her if…

I spun around to see Winter stand up shakily. His ebony clothes. My eyes widened. The image of my unknown attacker flashed through my mind.

"Winter!" I shouted wrathfully. "Why did you stop me! I could've save her!"

He had slightly angry, but wary eyes. "It doesn't matter. She's dead anyways."

"'It doesn't matter?'!" I yelled furiously. "What in the gods' names are you saying!"

Winter didn't say anything.

My anger flared up. "Why don't you answer! Josie's dead!"

"All souls eventually make it to the Underworld," Winter said morosely. "This was Josie's fate."

I went red with rage. In a second, I had Winter pinned to the ground. "I could've _saved her_! Are you justifying your action by _fate_! Is your heart really that cold?"

Suddenly, Winter's face was flooded with desperation. "Get off, Ash!"

"No! Not until you tell-" I was cut off just as something flung me to the ground. My head hit the ground and difficulty; I blinked the blackness out of my eyes. An image of Winter came into focus. A vague silhouette tall figure stood behind him with a dagger. I weakly cried out as the figure plunged it into Winter's back. The figure walked towards me. Exhausted of strength, I lifted my arms weakly to defend myself. Streams of water wrapped around my wrists and pulled me to the ground.

"Oh, poor naïve mortal," Proteus' voice rang through the air.

Suddenly, one of Winter's lessons came back to me. _If an enemy is going to strike you and you have no strength to counter, relax your muscles. You might avoid a fatal strike._

My clenched muscles instinctively relaxed. Was this what death felt like? A sharp stab panged in my back.

Wet. Crashing of waves. Groaning, I pushed myself up from the ground. Where was I?

I sat up with a start and sudden twinge of pain pulled in my back. Proteus had stabbed me.

"Winter!" I shouted. My voice sounded strange.

I crawled, my vision still blurry, clumsily to the spot where I had seen Winter. My knee slipped on a patch of slippery ground and I sprawled on the ground. Ineptly, I stumbled to my feet. Anxiously, I scanned my surroundings. I walked over to the shore. Winter was nowhere to be seen. I stared hopelessly at the vast sea. The cold water lapped at my feet. Helplessly, I turned and ran, tripping over some deformities of the earth. Beside the gray statue, I fell to my knees. Josie's eyes were still open wide with shock, her mouth gaped in surprise. I laid my fingers on her cheek, and drew them back immediately. Her skin was cold-too cold. I squeezed my eyes shut. Not skin, stone.

I covered my face with my hands, somehow trying to shut out the world. Shut out what had happened. Although the world was just a black void through my shut eyes, a dizzying sensation spun around my head.

Josie was dead.

Winter was dead.

I heard a distant yelling and suddenly realized it was me. My hands tightened around my head.

"Why!" I screamed. "Why gods! Why Josie! Why Winter! Oh, why, gods? Why!"

I raised my head to the heavens. Hot tears streamed out of my eyes and I yelled.

**Proteus POV**

"He looks pitiful," I said, disgustedly.

"True, but his spirit's strong," Idylla said. "He hasn't given into my manipulation, despite his condition."

Distastefully, I looked him. His ebony hair was matted with blood and his shirt was torn to ribbons. His eyes were half shut in exhaustion and his chest lifted unsteadily.

Obelix spoke up. "Do you think we can still go through with the plan?"

Idylla grimaced. "If he keeps it up, maybe not. He's very resilient, even with the beatings you gave him, Proteus."

Achlys laughed. "Oh, we'll break him. In due time, Idylla."

"We don't even know if he can summon _it_," Obelix muttered. "You guys are too reckless."

"He can summon _it_, alright," I muttered. "That plague he used to eat up my water prison was…it reeked of death."

I turned my gaze back to the boy.

"If it wasn't for the son of Zeus' mistake, he might've taken me. I don't even know how he noticed my trap."

"It was his _sharp _senses." Suddenly, Achlys grinned. She laughed. "I know how to get him to yield."

**Sorry if this chapter depressed you D:**

**But I hope you enjoyed it?**


	17. Chapter 17: Innocence

**Ugh, srry for taking so long to update .**

**The next chapter is the height of the climax (i think O.o) so stick around ;D**

**The story will hopefully make a lot more sense as it reaches the conclusion, 'cause I know that my story's been realllly confusing so far x.x**

**Well, uh, enjoy the chapter ;)  
**

**Chapter 17: Innocence**

**Winter POV**

A sharp rock of the cave dug into my back. I tried to shift myself into a more comfortable position. It was useless. The sedative the wraths had used on me immobilized my whole body. Even breathing was difficult. At least Idylla had left. Her manipulation made my head feel muddled and my senses weak. I hoped Byron was alright. I hoped all the hunters were alright. Only two wraths hadn't appeared in the cave yet. Hopefully they had been destroyed.

Vaguely, I realized that I was losing consciousness again. I forced myself to stay awake. If I was unconscious, surely Idylla would be able to tap into my mind easily. When I become lethargic, memories plague my head. And this time, it was a recent one that had already replayed in my head many times. The fight with Proteus. Suddenly, the memory came back full force

_Coils of snake-like water swept me off the ground. In a blink of an eye, freezing water engulfed me. I struck out, trying to break from the water. Then, I floated still, the orb was just expanding whenever I reached the edge of it. I closed my hands together, muttered a spell, and summoned a magic to destroy Proteus' water orb magic. Suddenly, I heard a muffled scream. Even though the water muddled my hearing, I could tell instantly that it was Josie. Then, the orb splashed to the ground, no longer held together by Proteus' magic. _

_ I fell to the ground and instantly noticed that something was wrong with the air. The water was humid; droplets of water hung in the air. The droplets seemed unnatural…and they reeked of Proteus' magic. I heard the crackle of air; Ash was summoning lightning. In a sudden movement, half of the air's humidity was drawn towards Josie. Proteus was right next to her. It hit me that Proteus was going to multiply the air's water and redirect Ash's lightning to Josie. _

_ I sprang off the ground and tackled Ash. Unexpectedly, he viciously rammed his shoulder into my throat, cutting off my breath. He delivered a punch to my stomach and I collapsed. Ferociously, he heaved me aside and ran off. _

_ Then, just devastation. Josie's death. Ash's angry screams. _

_ Then, a sharp stab._

When I woke up, I was in a cave with the wraths examining me. I leapt up in rage, trying to attack Proteus, but my movements were restricted and sluggish. I just had the strength to fall to the floor.

However, there was another event that flared in my brain. Before I tackled Ash, I had a vague premonition that Josie would die-whether Ash summoned the bolt or not. It must've been the remnants of my death sensing ability. Ever since I had completely drained the water serpent's spirit, I wasn't able to sense life and death anymore. Why had I stopped Ash? If Josie was going to die anyways, I should've taken advantage of that moment to destroy Proteus.

Why had I stopped Ash?

I recalled Ash's livid rage. ___"Why did you stop me! I could've saved her!"_ Why couldn't I tell him? I couldn't answer him. I couldn't let him live with the regret that he would've killed Josie. I couldn't let him carry that burden.

My fatigued mind brought back another memory. ___"In truth, the purpose for any mortal is just to live and die." _These were my very own words, yet, in this short period of time, the phrase seemed alien. Had I really said that?

I fell further in my memories-all the way back to camp. For some reason, the new camper Tria came to my mind. I had been suspicious when she first arrived at camp. Her footsteps were careful and graceful, like an experienced traveler. Also, when Queena had summoned that lightning…she couldn't have possibly avoided it. There was the sound of crackling ice, why was…

Suddenly, distant footsteps echoed through the cave. The wraths. Then, I frowned. Achly's weight on Earth was different. She was carrying something. I listened carefully. The soft clanging of the instruments…metal krotala? Then, my eyes widened. Achlys couldn't have…

Frantically, I desperately tried to move my limbs. Summon my magic. Anything! It was useless! The sedative was too strong. Their footsteps grew closer and nervous sweat beaded on my forehead. I controlled my uneasy breathing and tried to calm down. I couldn't let my fear show. The wraths walked into the opening.

"Ah, Winter, how nice of you to wait for us," Achlys said poisonously.

"Achlys…" Obelix said warily.

She ignored him. She tapped the krotala together and a shrill sound resonated through the air. I masked my pained reaction, but difficultly.

"Oh, can you not hear it, Winter?" she asked innocently.

The krotala spun through the air and crashed into the wall. A deafening crash rang in my ears and I couldn't help it-I cried out and twisted away from the sound. The sound was piercing in my ears and a painful pulsation echoed in my head. So earsplitting was the sound, I didn't even notice Achlys' footsteps until she picked up the krotala.

"The greatest strengths…can be one's greatest weakness," Achlys said sinisterly.

**Percy POV**

Hector frowned, absentmindedly spinning his dagger around his fingers.

"Ladon will be an issue," he mused. "He was decreed by Hera herself to protect the trees. She's a..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "…moody goddess. I doubt she'll give us leave to pass Ladon."

"Fight our way through?" Queena said.

"Probably," he said, sighing. "Percy?"

"Huh?"

"You fought Ladon before, would you suggest anything?"

"Well, Landon was _fast_. He had poisonous breath-it burns your eyes. If his teeth even touch you, the poison will eventually kill you. Landon's first priority, though, is to protect the tree. If you get far enough from the tree, Landon won't pursue you."

Annabeth unconsciously touched the gray streak in her hair, the mark from carrying Atlas' burden. Even the daughter of Athena couldn't seem to think of anything. How were you supposed to fight a golden dragon with hundreds of heads, each armed with a nasty set of poisonous teeth? Oh, and not to mention his bad breath.

"Ah!" Queena exclaimed. "I know!"

We all turned to look at her.

"It's simple," she said, looking at our curious expressions. "We sacrifice Percy, since he's practically invincible with Achilles' Curse. After we defeat the wraths, we'll come to save him, if he's not already in pieces and disintegrating from the poison."

I sat up straight. I was not fond of being envisioned in pieces and disintegrating from poison. She noticed my expression and said, "What?"

"Queena, we are not sacrificing Percy," Nicholas said.

She shrugged. "Just a suggestion."

I spoke up. "When I was at Mt. Tam, though, there were only three of us. With all of us, I'm sure we'll find some way to get past Ladon."

"Without killing him," Annabeth said.

Huh?

"If we destroy Ladon," Hector explained, "Hera will get angry and send man-eating cows after us or something and it's a likely probability that we'll die in a long and torturous…"

"What is up with you guys and imagining painful manners of death?" Grover interrupted.

It was Hector's turn to shrug. He seemed to think of something and spoke up again. "What I'm really curious about is the wrath Winter was sent to hunt. You know, the son of Poseidon and Medusa?"

Tria's eyes widened in barely readable shock. I met her gaze with a questionable look. She shook her head, but her panicked expression was now obvious.

"Do any of you know about Pro-?" Annabeth started.

"Hey!" Tria exclaimed loudly.

We all turned towards her with a start. Tria wasn't known to be loud-spoken.

"Um…" she said awkwardly. "I just wanted to say that the sky is getting dark. I'm going to get some firewood."

"But it's only-" Hector started.

"Better early than late!" she said, flashing a nervous smile. She hurried into the thick of the trees.

"Isn't it better never than late?" Tyson said.

"Better late than never, Tyson," Annabeth corrected.

Tyson frowned, contemplating about the contradictory forms of the idiom.

"Uh…" Hector said. "Well, let's hope Tria doesn't run off when we fight the actual Proteus. You said she just came to camp, right, Percy?"

I nodded.

"Well, I was just saying how I was curious about Proteus' abilities. I really wish Winter was here to tell us."

Suddenly, we all silent. Felix had explained to us what had happened with Byron's fight at the mountain. Afterwards, Felix had tried to contact Winter's team several time before but they hadn't answered.

"It's strange," Hector mused. "Even if they were…gone, we should still be able to contact them in the…Underworld. Something must be preventing the Iris messages."

"Maybe Proteus has some special ability," Felix suggested.

"Iris messages are summoned by mist," Annabeth said. "If Proteus' water manipulation was controlled enough, he would be able to dissipate the mist."

Hector made a 'tsk' sound with his mouth. "That must be it, then," he said reluctantly. "I know it's futile, but I wish I knew more."

I glanced over at Queena. She was being oddly quiet and she had a strange expression on her face. It seemed almost like shame.

"What's wrong, Queena?" Nicholas said.

She jerked her head. Guiltily, she cast her gaze down. "I, uh, had a dream about Proteus."

"What!" we all exclaimed.

The guilty look melted off her face and was replaced by scorn. "What? Do you guys want to hear about it or not?"

She rolled her eyes but was sober as she recalled her dream. "I think Proteus has some sort of…curse."

Hector's expression was calm but inside, I bet he was screaming, _Hurry__ on __about__ it,__girl!_

"It was when he was a kid. When he heard his mom's voice, he was shocked by some black lightning. I think someone said that he wasn't allowed to hear his family, have contact with his family, or say their name."

"Say their name?" Annabeth questioned.

"Yeah, apparently Proteus was cursed so that he could never say or hear his family's names. I think his family wasn't allowed to say or hear his name either."

"Is that all?" Hector asked.

"That's it. I didn't see much."

"How did Proteus get the curse? The lightning…was it…" he didn't continue. Accusing the lord of gods about a curse was almost like breaking the law.

"Maybe he was born with it," Queena said shortly. "As I said, not much of it was revealed."

I took a quick glance at Nicholas. His expression was skeptical and I suspected that Queena's dream was more then she let on.

"Well, I don't have a recording of Medusa's voice," I said, breaking the silence. "What about you guys?"

"Perhaps it has something about his family connections…" Hector muttered. His eyebrows were furrowed together in pure concentration.

"And he…he had a sister," Queena said.

My eyebrows flew up in surprise. A daughter of Medusa and Poseidon?

"Who?" Annabeth exclaimed.

"I'm not sure!" Queena said. "But it doesn't really matter, anyways. She's not one of the wraths, is she?"

"No," Hector answered. "She might've just turned out to be a monster. The wraths have adapted enough of god blood to be as powerful as they are."

It was true. Most monsters had some god blood in them, but didn't possess enough to inherit the god's abilities. The wraths had an abnormal amount of god blood which allowed them to be so powerful.

Hector leaned back on his hands and looked at the seemingly abstract lines that he had sketched in the dirt.

"We go at dusk tomorrow," Annabeth said.

We all nodded. I laid on the ground and shifted into a comfortable position. The sun was setting and the skies caught blaze to the fiery hues of sunset. The shadows had started to stretch across the earth with the darkness of night when Tria came back. Our talk about the wraths and Proteus was over. Queena ignited a small spark to light the firewood, all the while giving Tria a strange look. Tria volunteered to stay on watch. I turned to look at the stars. Sparkling with a gentle radiance was Zoe Nightshade's huntress constellation. I spotted another constellation-an elegant angel spreading her wings. What had Annabeth called it? Oh yeah, Astrea. _Innocence_.

I watched the flickering fires cast leaping shadows across Tria's contemplative expression as she gazed upwards at the stars. Then, I closed my eyes.

**Well, i hope you liked the chapter!**

**I realize that some of the things didn't make much sense, 'cause I forgot to mention them in the earlier chapters .**

**But, to specify, Proteus' curse is basically that he isn't allowed _any_ existence with his family.**

**He isn't allowed to see, touch, hear, or say/hear their names. **

**So, essentially, to Proteus, he has no family except for in his memories. **

**It's kind of important :P so just try to remember it xD**


	18. Chapter 18: Daughter of Sea and Stone

******Hey readers!  
Reallly srry for not posting for such a long time :(  
Srry *sheepish grin*  
but...hope you like the new chapter!  
we're reaching our climatic point  
and a happy new year!  
**

**Chapter 18: Daughter of Sea and Stone**

**Hector POV**

Awkwardly, I gripped Percy's hand, as he led us through the fog. I spotted a glimpse of Annabeth leading Queena through, before the thick curtain of mist obscured my sigh. Hard rock beneath my feet turned to soft grass as the air gradually cleared. A brilliant garden met my eyes and I stood swaying for a moment, dizzy from the sudden return of my sight. I put my hand above my eyes, squinting against the blinding red sun. Sunset blazed across the skies.

"It's just like it was last time," Percy muttered.

The garden was beautiful and surreal. The luminous flowers reflected the unreal crimson light of the sunset. A towering apple tree drooped with the boughs of glittering golden apples. The apples of immortality. I could catch the faint perfume of the godly fruit with the thick mint of eucalyptus. The bright sun cast lengthening shadows across the glowing garden.

The beauty of the clearing couldn't hide the fact that there was a huge dragon wrapped around the tree. Ladon.

Despite all the reading I had done before on Ladon, I still stepped back when I saw him. His copper scales glinted with a wicked sharpness. All hundred heads lifted slightly with the deep breathing of sleep.

"That's a big dragon," Queena said, her voice tinged with awe.

"Yup," Sherman, a scrawny satyr, said intelligently.

"Now can we sacrifice Percy?" Queena said.

"No!" I said. I turned to Percy. "Will the Hesperides let us through?"

"They're not dangerous," he said, waving his hand. His voice sounded a bit uncertain, but then he shook his head. "Don't worry about them; we got a dragon the size of a rocket in front of us."

The dragon was still sleeping but I doubted we could tip toe past it. I had a vague thought that he knew we were there right now. I rubbed my nose. Hopefully my plan would work…  
As quick as a trick of an eye, light seemed to bend. The Hesperides materialized from the shadows and studied us scornfully, their arms crossed. One said, "It's Perseus Jackson again."

Another sighed and then said, "Let's leave."

They nodded and turned around, melting into the shadows.

"Uh…" Nicholas said, pretty much summarizing everybody's reaction.

"Well, we got one thing out of the way," Annabeth commented.

I gazed at the enormous dragon and his bright gleaming teeth. Would the plan really work?

"Wide," Annabeth said quietly.

Queena, Nicholas, Sherman, Felix, and I moved behind the orchard of trees lining the path left of the garden. The dragon stirred. Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, Grover, and Tria began to move to the right. A few of Ladon's heads stretched.

"Hurry," I hissed, pushing them forwards.

Three head raised, their golden eyes blinking now. I brought my hand to my forehead. The satyrs, Sherman, Felix, and Grover, lifted their reed pipes and played an eerie tune that somehow seemed desperate.

Queena and Nicholas broke off into a sprint as Ladon finally roused. He roared, thrashing, as the vines twisted to the melodies of the music. The thick vines lashed against Ladon, holding him down. On the other side of the meadow, I watched Annabeth shove Percy forward. Sherman and Felix stumbled forward, struggling to play their pipes and run at the same time. I headed after them, doing my best not to panic. Now awake, Ladon seemed monstrous. His eyes flashed with golden fury and a hundred heads gnashed their deadly teeth together. Ladon roared a blood-curdling cry. My eyes stung from his venomous breath.

A few trees flew by as I ran. The vines quivered, holding down the struggling beast. Mount Tam grew larger. A few vines snapped.

"It's not enough," I whispered.

I glanced up. Queena and Nicholas had already made their way to the stone path of the mountain. Sherman and Felix's run, however, had slowed and their reed pipes song quavered. I looked across the meadow. Tyson had slung Grover over his shoulders and were right behind Queena and Nicholas. Percy and Annabeth were close behind. Tria was trailing behind, and looking back at us. I wanted to scream at her to run, but I was afraid to attract Ladon's attention. I realized that it was getting hard to breathe. Each breath was becoming shorter and more ragged. I quickly identified the source. Fear.

Suddenly, there was a sickening snap. I looked back in horror to see Ladon fling himself from his bonds. All hundred heads swung towards us. I drew my sword, vaguely realizing my hands were shaking. Sherman dropped his reed pipes in panic. He began to pick them up.

"Don't worry about them!" I shouted. "Run!"

Without a second thought, he turned and fled. I pulled an explosive out of my pocket and activated the impact reaction. I realized Felix was still standing besides me.

"What are you-?" I began.

I stuttered to a stop as he undid his club's bindings.

"Byron is still out there fighting," Felix said, almost listlessly. "The least I can do is fend Ladon off until…"

"No," I said. "This was my plan. If it fails, it's my fault…"

"How selfish are you?" Felix interrupted. "We all agreed on it. Agreed to risk our lives. I'm wasting my time arguing."

I almost my mouth to, well, argue, when he ran away. Towards Ladon.

"Felix!" I shouted.

A Huntress had fallen to Ladon's teeth a few years back, there was no way Felix could survive. I sprinted after him. My feet beat against the soft grass and my grip tightened around my sword. The sour smell in the air intensified. I pulled my shirt up around my mouth and nose. Felix swung his club, knocking one of Ladon's heads aside. Another head knocked him to the ground. Five heads swung in. I rushed in and yanked Felix out of the way. Ladon turned toward me, snarling and hissing. I brought my sword up in an upward arc and rapped a head aside. I slid an explosive disk underneath Ladon's feet and rushed away. Felix stumbled to his feet and followed me. I plugged my ears as the jarring explosion shook the ground.

_It's not enough, _my thoughts echoed in my mind.

_It has to be! It will be!_ I shoved the negative thoughts aside.

Just to the mountain path. If we got far enough, Ladon wouldn't follow. I panted, unable to think of anything except for escape. A sharp cry shattered my thoughts. I spun around. Felix was on the ground and Ladon's hundred heads reeled in anger above him. He was unharmed and even angrier. In a split second decision, I threw my sword forwards. It spun and knocked a few heads aside, but I knew it wasn't enough. I was now unarmed. Felix flung himself to the side as Ladon lunged. The satyr cried out and curled over.

"Ladon!" a female voice called.

Confusion flooded me. The figure had flowing black hair and caramel skin. Her hair seemed to be fluttering in the breeze. There was no wind, though. Was she a Hesperide? They seemed hostile enough to me; I didn't think they would try helping. No! The person was Tria! What was she doing? Ladon spun around, his muscles coiled for another attack. I rushed forward, not knowing how I would help. Then, I stopped in the middle of my tracks. Ladon froze in the middle of his attack. I stumbled backwards as frost spread across Ladon's copper scales. Soon, Ladon was an ice statue. His eyes were frozen silver orbs.

Percy rushed towards Tria. He came in a few feet to her before stopping abruptly. I hurried towards them. Annabeth came up besides him and gasped.

"Tria, wha-?" I heard Percy say.

I came closer and realized her hair _was_ moving. Coiling and squirming in the air. Then, I realized why.

They were a bed of ebony snakes.

"Medusa?" Annabeth whispered.

Tria shook her head in denial. She was trembling and crying, covering her face with her hands. Tears dripped from her hands, but landed on the grass with solid impact. Carefully, I ventured forward and picked up one. It was cold. Ice.

Thoughts raced through my mind.

The frozen tear sparkled in my hand. Shaken, I dropped it.

_Ice. Solid water. Water and stone. _

A mural of Poseidon riding the waves flashed in my memory.

_Water. Poseidon. Stone. Medusa. _

I suddenly remembered Thalia's shield. The image of the terrifying Gorgon engraved into it. Her serpent hair.

_The first monster is the leader, Proteus. He is the son of Poseidon and Medusa,_ Athena's voice echoed in my mind.

A sentence from my memory roared full force. I pieced together the final bit of the puzzle.

Queena's words pounded in my head.

_And he…he had a sister._

**Well! Hope you liked it!  
and I wish you guys a happy new year!**


	19. Chapter 19: Storm or Fire

**Hey my lovely (yes, your lovely!) fanfic readers!  
So, I know I haven't posted a chapter in...*looks at watch* in about three months? heh...  
But! I have posted one now! (as you probably know since you've clicked on the chapter link...O.o, anyways...)  
this is a pivotal point in the story and i hope you like it!**

**Chapter 19: Storm or Fire**

**Percy POV**

I stared at the black serpents, transfixed. One stared at me with beady silver eyes, hissed, and then continued fighting and writhing with its siblings.

"Get away!" Hector shouted suddenly. I started as he flung me backwards.

"She's a monster!" he shouted.

"Wha-what do you mean?" I said slowly, finding my voice.

"Have you not figured it out?" he said furiously. "She's been tricking us! She's Proteus'-!"

Suddenly, an earsplitting scream cut through the air. Tria cried out as black lightning engulfed her. I rushed forward but Hector pulled me back.

"It's just like Queena said," Hector muttered. "The curse. None of his family can hear his name or voice."

Hector grabbed a rope out of his backpack and tied Tria's wrists together. "Don't you dare do anything; I know your brother's curse."

Tria nodded and made no effort to resist. The serpents had become hair again. She stared at the ground with her sad, strange silver-green eyes. Sherman had rushed over to examine Felix's wound. Hector pulled her up and tied her against a tree. I looked over at Annabeth. She looked bewildered.

Hector glanced at us. He said in a low voice, "Let's go."

Ignoring Queena and Nicholas' questioning gazes, he walked swiftly past them. Nicholas gestured over at Tria and opened his mouth to talk. He noticed our expressions and said, "No explanation? No? Oh, okay then."

"Percy?" Tyson asked, frightened.

"Don't worry about it, big guy," I said, trying to sound confident.

"Is Tria a bad guy?"

"Well, buddy, she's just diff…" I stuttered to a stop as I looked up at his big eye. His one aberration that still repelled most of the campers. I swallowed. "We can't trust her, big guy."

He just about drooped with sadness but he still followed me up the mountain. Time seemed to slow as we approached the top of the mountain. Hector had been up at night, wringing his hands, trying to figure out a strategy. There was no _planning_ anything. We eventually convinced Hector that we just had to brawl, but he was visibly uncomfortable about it.

There was no backing out of this fight. Hopefully it wouldn't be our last.

"Fight with me?" I asked Annabeth. The rest of the demigods began engaging their fights.

"'Till the end," she said, smiling faintly.

I spotted Atlas holding the sky. The swirling gray clouds and gloom was immense. It brought back bad memories.

"Sup, Atlas."

"Shut up, Perseus Jackson," he replied.

Well, he still had his nice sense of humor.

Annabeth and I approached two wraths. Brother and sister, Achlys and Timoleon, were back to back.

"Leon, stay back," Achlys said soberly.

Leon? So monsters gave each other nicknames.

"I'll get Achlys," I said to Annabeth.

"Got it."

I uncapped Riptide and charged.

**Nicholas POV**

How did I end up fighting Proteus? Oh, well.

I dropped to the ground as a blade of water flashed above my head. Queena ducked and shot bolts of lightning. Proteus' water shield absorbed the bolts and dissipated into mist. Almost instantly the mist collected and attacked us again. In the most ungraceful manner, I, well as people say, hit the floor. My knee skid painfully along the ground as I flung myself on the rocky ground. He was so strong! I spotted Atlas some distance away. At least _he_ was weighed down by the weight of the world right now. I was glad that I didn't have to fight him like Percy did.

"Where is Winter?" Queena demanded.

Was she talking to Proteus? Of course Queena would try to taunt a monster who was just about overwhelming us!

"Right around here," he said leisurely. It sounded like he was just taking a stroll in the park. "Didn't you know?"

Queena charged forward and swung her sword. Proteus deftly dodged. I summoned the sea to slip his landing. With a flick of a wrist, he pushed the water away. This was so frustrating!

"Of course I didn't know! Why would I ask otherwise?" Queena spat.

Queena! Enough with the wisecrack remarks!

Suddenly, Proteus swung out with his arm and knocked Queena down. He raised his sword. I rushed forward, but I was too late.

"Proteus!" an unfamiliar voice hollered. Who was it?

Proteus faltered for a second and I didn't bother identifying our newcomer. I dashed forward and pulled Queena away. I set her down and she glanced at her elbow, which was scraped up and bloody now. Then, she looked up.

"No way," she said, looking past me.

"What is- whoa…" I stopped.

Ash was standing at the mountain top. His shirt was smeared with blood, grit, and sweat. Dirty hair and grime framed his face. Despite looking like he just fought a war, his expression had a frightening intensity. His eyes were filled with alarming fury, almost to the point of madness.

"Oh, you're alive," Proteus said. His tone almost shocked me more than Ash's appearance. He didn't sound the littlest surprised, just vaguely disappointed. "I thought you'd died."

"Too bad," Ash said. "but I'm not the one that's going to die."

Thunder rumbled overhead. Startled, I looked up at the gray clouds accumulating. These clouds weren't the swirling storm Atlas was holding. Then, I looked towards Proteus, who was looking upwards. This was my chance! I raced forward, tightening my grip on my sword. Suddenly, he flicked his hand. A torrent of icy water hit me and threw me backwards. I hit the ground and I coughed up water. Let me just say, belly flopping against rocks does not feel nice. I pushed myself up with difficulty, my clothes thoroughly soaked through. When I finally looked up, I gasped. The sky was completely covered in stormy gray clouds, laced with sparking white lightning and silver lining. I grimaced. The irony. I looked behind me and stumbled backwards. A cliff dropped straight down behind me but that's not what I saw. Monstrous waves leapt and crashed against each other. The agitated dark azure water looked like there were fifteen tsunamis, hurricanes, and riptides happening at once. What was happening?

"Queena!" I shouted over the wind. "What's going on?"

"It's Ash and Proteus!" she shouted back. Rain began joining the torrent of wind.

"What? Are you serious?"

"No! I'm joking! I'm totally being sarcastic!"

"I'm sorry I asked!"

I crouched low against the ground, gestured Queena to follow, and crawled in front of a rock; I didn't know what else to do. I glanced at the monstrous Titan holding the swirling gray clouds and gloom. Even he seemed to be having some difficulty facing the storm's wind. Suddenly, a prophecy line came to me. To s_torm or fire, the world must fall. _

I struggled to my feet, I had to stop Ash and Proteus! In a moment of imbalance and sudden wind, my feet were swept from underneath me. I winced as I hit the ground. I couldn't do anything. I looked up helplessly. All I could do was wait. Atlas had his head down, his body positioned against the wind. His arms muscles seemed to tremble from the weight of the world. Were they before?

A huge tornado of lightning created a whirlpool in the sky. Bright white flashes and scarlet sparks of fire fought each other in the summoned one bright flash, the lightning and flames collected and shot towards the earth in a spiral of hellfire. _To s__torm or fire. _A dark flood of surging water flew overhead just before –BAM!

The divine collision of elements flung me backwards. I crashed against the boulder and my head snapped backwards, connecting with the rock. I stumbled to my feet and looked up right as an immense mass of swirling gray gloom, clouds, and haze obscured the sky as mortal kind knew it. _The world must fall. _

It dawned on me.

Oh gods, Atlas had dropped the sky.

**Hello again!  
just to clarify, Atlas _did_ drop the sky.  
any other questions? just review :)**

**i will try to post the next chpt as soon as i can (in a month?) and hopefully it won't take as long as this one :/**


	20. Chapter 20: Murderer or Savior

**Oh shoot!  
I totally forgot to post this chpt!**

**I'm so sorry DDDD:**

**Enjoy?**

**Chapter 20: Murderer or Savior**

**Nicholas POV**

The wall of clouds closed in so quickly, I didn't even have time to have any last thoughts. Fear and terror flooded my mind. It felt like gravity was crushing me. This was the end! I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the inevitable impact.

It never came.

Still frozen with terror, I tentatively opened my eyes. I had to be in heaven. Maybe the impact was so quick, I couldn't feel it. I gazed upwards. No, this wasn't heaven. The gray clouds still loomed over me. But…they were moving?

Like a miracle, the mass of clouds slowly lifted. My mind wasn't processing this. Still stiff with shock, I shakily rose to my feet. Next to me, Queena stood up. We were all looking at the same thing.

The spiral of clouds known as the sky, the world, was being held up...but not by Atlas. The great Titan was on the ground and as shocked as everybody else on the mountain.

Tria was holding up the sky.

My brain cells were desperately trying to register what was going on. The world had almost crushed us. The world had almost ended by the world falling. Tria was holding the sky. Atlas wasn't holding it. My mind sent off its panic radar.

Atlas wasn't holding the sky! He was free!

Fighting had erupted around me again, when I realized my opponent was gone. Where was Proteus? I gripped my sword tightly, looking around me. Queena tugged on my sleeve and pointed at a body on the floor. Proteus was unconscious.

"I'll destroy him before he's conscious again," she said tightly. She held up her hands, her fingertips sparking.

"We have to get Atlas!" I said. "He's the biggest threat right now."

She hesitated and then promptly directed her lightning at Atlas. "Let's pray that Proteus will remain unconscious until this fight is over." Then, she nodded at something behind me. "Check on Ash. I can handle Atlas by myself for a while."

She rushed off and I hurried to an unconscious Ash's side.

**Percy POV**

I barely had time to register the world falling when Achlys attacked again. I was getting tired, desperate, and frustrated. I couldn't seem to get through her guard. All I needed was one opening, one misstep. I lunged with my sword and she deftly danced out of reach. She countered with daggers of water and barely, I was able to catch them with a shield of water.

All I had achieved from this fight were wasted attacks. Nobody else seemed to be getting anywhere either. The current situation was Annabeth and I fending off Achlys and Timoleon. Hector was attempting to get through to Obelix, who seemed to be shielding Idylla. Nicholas and Queena were occupied with Atlas. Achlys had knocked out Tyson and Proteus had disengaged Grover. I didn't have the chance to check if he was alive or not. At the moment, Ash and Proteus seemed to be unconscious.

Achlys' attacks had me constantly moving, dodging. Her water manipulation was so swift; I didn't have time to think. I had already lost my sword once. Until it had returned to my pocket, I had to fend myself off with only the sea. Achlys was smart and quick. I had learned quickly that I couldn't fight her off like a normal monster.

Breathing was becoming difficult and knew I couldn't hold for much longer. I had to change up my style. Moving my sword to just one hand, I willed a shield of water with the other. I'd have less power, but I needed to keep up with her speed.

Dodge. Counter, cut, dodge. Jump, dodge, lunge, swing. As I leapt about her attacks, a thought slowly crept in my mind. I'd never done it before; I didn't know if I could do it. My breath caught in my throat and I gasped for air. My muscles were deathly sore and my lungs on fire. Even if I couldn't do it, I had to try. I didn't have the stamina to continue. First, I had to let her disarm me.

I jumped into a forward roll, barely dodging a water slicer. Suddenly, a force knocked me off my feet. Even expecting it, I couldn't brace myself against the water blast. I sprawled on the ground and hurried to face her. As water spun off her fingers, I braced myself. _Focus, Percy. Focus!  
_ I closed my eyes, feeling for the sea. Vaguely, I sensed a distant pulse. I grasped the sensation and zoned in on the heartbeat. Desperately, I clutched the pulsation and tried to synchronize my heartbeat with it. I felt a familiar violent tug my gut.

Flashing my eyes open, I whirled the water back towards Achlys. It knocked her down. Wasting no time, my fingers found Riptide and I leapt towards her. I thrust my sword towards her heart.

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted.

My swing was already in full throttle. The blade swung down and cut flesh…of an arm. Achlys' bewildered expression mirrored mine. A bloodcurdling scream rang through the air.

I stumbled backwards as I saw Timoleon drop to the floor, clutching his arm. His face was contorted in horrific agony.

"Leon? Leon!" Achlys cried out. She grabbed his shoulders in panic.

He cried out in anguish again, his muscles convulsing. A long jagged gash ran across his forearm. The wound was black and the flesh around it seemed to be disintegrating. Grotesque black slime oozed from the wound and seemed to be patching the wound. As soon as the slime patched the cut, the flesh would burn away again.

"What's going on?" Annabeth exclaimed.

"I…I don't know," I said. "A cut from celestial bronze should destroy a monster instantly."

"Destroy!" Achlys repeated in disgust. "Listen to you demigods. And you think you're all merciful and good."

"What's happening?" I demanded.

"Gods, you demigods are stupid," Achlys spat. "Leon's not just monster; he's part god."

"What?"

"He's part god, demigod! It's trying to fight off the celestial bronze, trying to heal him!"

"What'll happen?" I asked.

She ignored me and turned to her brother. "Leon, talk to me!"

"Hey…Alice," he said gritting his teeth. Timoleon's fingers dug into his wounded arm in a death grip. As the flesh in his injured arm bulged with black bruises, Charybdis' transformation flashed in my mind.

"What'd you do that for?" she demanded.

"I…made a promise to…Mom," he struggled to say.

"What?" Achlys said quietly.

_I promise, Mom. _I remembered the dream vividly.

He turned to me. "Percy knows."

In those two words, it was almost like he was regarding a friend. His pained expression looked nothing but human. For a moment, I couldn't see the monster.

"Maybe I can help," I said suddenly. I shut my mouth. What was I saying?

Achlys' eyes looked up, flashing with anger. "Stay away, demigod!"

Leon grimaced, but he didn't look he was in as much pain as before. He pushed himself into a sitting position. "I…I think I can control it."

I couldn't tell if his arm was better, but at that moment Annabeth called out. "Percy! Destroy Achlys!"

What? My quest came back to me. Destroy the wraths.

"I won't let you," Timoleon said, clenching his teeth. Suddenly, he grimaced, bending over his blackened arm. He shook his head. "I don't care whatever happens to my body, you aren't hurting my sister."

Then, his arm thrashed, throwing him upon the rocks. In distress, he cried out. Black slime oozed from his wound, spilling on the rocks. His features no longer looked human, but were contorted into an alien-like shape.

"Leon!" Achlys yelled.

Suddenly, Leon stopped thrashing. His expression was peaceful.

Achlys breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, Leon. I thought…"

The scent of a sea breeze passed through. Abruptly, Leon's body disintegrated and blew away in blue dust. Achlys froze, her mouth gaped open. There was a figure standing behind her.

I looked more closely. "Dad?"

His sea-green eyes were sad. "He was suffering. I…ended it."

I stiffened, remembering the prophecy line. _An oath to keep with a final breath._

Everybody in the cave at this point, was stunned at the god's arrival.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm not supposed to interfere with quests," he said, "but Timoleon is my grandson after-"

"POSEIDON!" Achlys shouted. Her voice was so full of fury and rage, I jumped.

"How _dare_ you show up!" she yelled, her voice rising with every word. She had jumped to her feet now, her hands curled in fists.

"I just saved your brother," he said calmly. "I don't understand why you're angry."

"You saved him?" she shouted. "You killed him. You killed my brother!"

"He was going to die anyways, Ach-"

"Don't even try to reason with me! He could've survived. You kill my father, you destroy my mom, and then you kill my brother!" Her voice was trembling with anger at this point. "Idylla!"

Idylla? The wrath who had manipulating abilities?

"Yes, Achlys?" I was taken back. Idylla's voice was _beautiful_. _Snap out of it, Percy!_

"Bring him out," Achlys said. Her voice was low now, but still full of dangerous rage.

"Achlys, but we're not on Mt. Olympus yet!" a beautiful, dark-haired girl, most likely Idylla, replied.

"I don't care! We bring down one of the Big Three, we can handle Zeus by ourselves."

"Proteus is unconscious, tho-"

"BRING HIM OUT!"

Stunned to silence, she nodded stiffly. She closed her eyes and seemed to be silently communicating to someone. Out of nowhere, a figure stumbled from the shadows and fell on his knees. His ebony hair fell on top of his…

…pale eyes.

**Few more chapters, my beautiful readers :)**

**Hold on till the end!**

**(I'm sorry I forgot to post this!)**


	21. Chapter 21: The Vengeful Truth

**Hey my beautiful readers!**

**Or what's left of you guys anyways O.o**

**...**

**Anyhoos! I lied!**

**There will not be a few more chapters...this is the last chpt!**

**Srry for springing this up on you out of the blue '3'**

**More Author's Note at the end of the chapter :P**

**For now...enjoy the LAST chapter of Vengeful Truth**

**Chapter 21: The Vengeful Truth**

**Percy POV**

I looked on him with horror. I didn't know what the wraths had done to him, but he looked barely looked alive. The blind boy's head was bowed down, but I could still see that his face was even paler than I remembered and streaked with sweat. His shirt was reduced to a bloody mess of shredded rags. His entire body was trembling. Then, he lifted his head and began moving his lips.

A haunting whisper wafted through the air. The foreign words grew to an eerie chant. All I understood of the ancient tongue was the word _death_.

All of a sudden, Annabeth gasped. "Percy!" she exclaimed. "We have to stop him!"

"What?" I was pulled out of my stunned state. "What is it?"

"_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death_," she recited in a rush. "The prophecy! Winter's going to open them!"

In the string of the strange recitation, I caught _Tartarus_.

"Winter's going to open Tartarus," I whispered in numb shock.

I lunged for Idylla, reaching for Riptide. In midair, a freezing blast of water knocked me aside. I crashed, tumbling across the ground. My clothes now soaking wet, I looked up. Water spun around Achlys' hands. Her eyes blazed with fury. "It's done," she said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Winter touch his finger to the ground. Like a quiet breath, a chilling tremor shuddered through the air. Then, an eerie calm rested.

_Whoosh. _

I heard the rumble of the avalanche before the ground collapsed inwards. I stumbled backwards. It was like a black hole had opened. Rocks tumbled into an infinite black void. I got nauseous looking into the nothingness.

"Gods!" Annabeth shouted. "It's growing! It'll swallow the whole mountain!"

"I'm going to get to Idylla!" I yelled back.

A magnetic pull emanating from the pit threatened to suck me in. I fought against the void, keeping my eye on the wrath. Her face was contorted with focus, her eyes shut tight. She was probably concentrating on controlling Winter. Now, she was only a few feet away. Then, I froze. I had forgotten about Achlys. I spun around and blocked her staff of ice with my sword. I looked wildly at my feet. The ground behind me was rapidly collapsing. Fighting Tartarus' pull, I desperately tried to push Achlys away.

"Tatarus nullifies magic, demigod," she hissed. "It's the end."

I tensed, waiting for the ground to fall from my feet. Suddenly, the void stopped growing. Not bothering to understand, I swiftly kicked Achlys backwards and pulled away from the sucking vacuum. I glanced at Idylla. Her mouth was open in silent shock and she was looking at the golden horn that had grown out of her chest. The horn suddenly withdrew and Idylla slumped to the ground. She exploded into dust as she hit the ground.

Abruptly, I realized the horn was part of a weapon. A muscular blonde boy covered in cuts and scrapes held a large spear.

A loud shout interrupted my thoughts. I turned around to see Achlys smashing a huge torpedo of water into Poseidon's chest.

"Dad!" I cried out.

He tumbled towards into the black void. Tartarus' pull caught his imbalance and yanked him towards the pit.

_Tartarus nullifies magic. _

I looked on hopelessly as Poseidon was pulled into the void. Suddenly, rocks erupted onto the surface. Poesidon crashed against the ground.

"What happened?" I exclaimed, the thought stumbling out of my mouth.

"Winter's amazing," Byron said.

I turned to the blonde boy holding the golden spear.

"I'm not dead quite yet," he said, grinning. He brushed some monster dust off his spear. "But Winter managed to close Tartarus."

**Winter POV**

I breathed difficultly, my hand closed tightly in a fist. Shakily, I opened my fist. The power of Tartarus was overwhelming; it was frightening. Slowly, I stood up, wobbling a little. I started walking over to Proteus. The wrath had gained consciousness and had gotten to his feet. A surge of water shot towards me. With a flick of my hand, a shield raised to block the torrent. Being exposed to an element of the Underworld had heightened all my senses. It almost felt like I had been shot with ambrosia. I knew I could finish this fight. I clenched my hands into fists, closing cuffs of black energy around Proteus' hands. I felt a wrath assume an offensive position behind me.

"No, Achlys," Proteus called. "Stand down."

I advanced until I was a few feet away from him. I pulled out my sword and held it at his throat.

"Who knew it'd end this way?" Proteus said. His voice was bitter. "Well, I can't blame you. Underneath the gods, everybody has to be submissive."

I pulled my blade back to slit his throat. Then, I paused.

"What's wrong, Winter?" Hector called. 'What are you waiting for?"

I hesitated, lowering the tip of my blade. There was a reason why the wraths felt so much resentment towards the gods. In my imprisonment, I had pieced together their stories. Zeus and Poesidon's wars had cost Proteus his family, Achlys and Timoleon their parents, and Obelix his father. My grip tightened around my hilt. The gods needed to learn how their little squabbles were affected the rest of the world. I lowered my head and sheathed my sword.

"Winter!" Annabeth exclaimed. "What are you-?"

"I'll let you talk to the gods," I said quietly to Proteus.

"I don't need sympathy," Proteus spat. "I'd rather die honorably than bow down to the gods."

"Don't worry," I said, turning around. "It won't be you they're looking at."

**Byron POV**

"You have directly gone against your oath to the River Styx!" Zeus shouted in fury. His voice boomed through the entire room. Winter winced and rubbed his ear. "Not only _you_, son of Hades, but all of you!"

"It was only me," Winter said defiantly. "If they had tried to touch the wraths, I would've opened Tartarus again."

"Don't talk lies," Zeus seethed.

"It's true," Winter said bluntly. "What do you know to say otherwise?"

Zeus was so angry, I swear the air around him was sparking.

"Father," I said, quickly. "All of us were worn from weeks of toil and fighting. Many of us had lost comrades. At Mt. Tam, we were mentally and physically exhausted."

He seemed surprised, and not in a good way, that someone else had spoken against him. After some deliberation, Zeus spoke up.

"Alright," he said. "Do we all agree that these demigods aren't at fault?"

The gods muttered consent. "But," Zeus continued, "the son of Hades has no excusable reason to against his oath. As the oath to the River Styx is the most severe, do we agree that the son of Hades deserves a punishment."

Astounded, I stepped forward. "But Dad, Winter saved-"

"Silence!" he roared. "How dare you interrupt the Lord of the Gods so informally!"

"-Poesidon's butt," I finished quietly. Grimacing, I stepped back. I glanced at Winter. His face was unreadable, but he seemed to be silently accepting his judgment.

"May I suggest a ruling?" Hades asked.

"Just because he's your son, doesn't mean he's getting off easy," Zeus said.

"Not too hard to believe," Hades said almost bitterly. "I suggest that Winter Shakler is sentenced to eternal servitude in my realm."

"That's hardly a punishment for a son of Hades!" Zeus protested.

I noticed Hades giving Poseidon a knowing look. Poseidon cleared his throat. "Um, actually Brother, I agree with Hades."

"What?" Zeus exclaimed.

"Keeping Winter in the Underworld would guarantee that he'd never cause havoc on Earth again. Also, Winter would never die in the Underworld. Then, we wouldn't have to worry about a reincarnation."

"I'll take full responsibility for Winter," Hades said.

Zeus clenched his teeth and then said, "Fine! I never want to see him again!"

Poseidon gestured at the wraths. "What about them?"

"Actually," I said, bargaining speaking up again. "I think Charon will be able to arrange something."

**Percy POV**

Having the wraths at camp was awkward for everybody at first, but eventually everybody got used to it. So far, Obelix was fitting in with the campers the best. The campers enjoyed sword fighting with him. Astrea was pretty quiet, but she was handling camp life pretty well. (I learned Tria's real name was Astrea. She later revealed that she had only infiltrated camp to find her brother. Just like I though, Tria, Astrea, never had bad intentions. Why she had used a fake name, she never explained.) Achlys stayed at the edge of events and ignored the Poseidon campers. Sometimes, I saw her carrying a small vial of blue dust. I wasn't sure, but I thought they were her brother's ashes. She had come to me once and asked what Timoleon had meant by 'Percy knows'. Since then, we haven't talked.

I hadn't seen Proteus around much. He usually hung around the woods or the beach. Tria explained that it was probably because he didn't want to see her. When I asked why, she just smiled and said it was complicated.

It was almost sunset when I made my way to the shore. I wanted to clear my mind. So many things had happened; I just needed to have a moment of calm. As I got closer, I noticed somebody sitting by the lapping waves of the sea. I frowned, it wasn't Hermes was it?

With a start, I realized it was Proteus. I froze, arguing between leaving in a hurry or shuffle away awkwardly.

"Hello, Jackson. What are you doing here?" he said.

Shoot! He noticed me. Cautiously, I moved beside him. He turned his head, raised his eyebrow. "I won't bite," he said, amused.

I sat in the warm sand a few feet away from him. He seemed so…normal. With his sunglasses masking his stone eyes, he seemed just like a somber teenager hanging at the beach.

"So..." I said tentatively, "what are you doing here?"

He was silent for a moment. I thought he wasn't going to answer when he said, "Normally, the sea makes me angry. Today…I don't know. It's helping me think."

"The sea makes you angry," I repeated, "is it Poseidon?"

He winced a little as a small arc of lightning fluttered around his wrist. He shook his arm in annoyance. I had seen it before, even in a much larger scale, but I couldn't help but widen my eyes in surprise.

"Yeah, it's him," he said simply.

We sat in silence for a moment. Why did Proteus have that lightning? What had happened? Queena seemed to have known most of it, but I suspected that she hadn't told the whole story. Tria refused to tell me. I gulped and asked my question:

"What happened?"

"_Fulmina?_"

_The lightning?_

I simply nodded. Proteus was scary enough as it was, and I suspected that the black lightning was a sensitive subject. Behind his dark shades, he studied me, as if wondering whether to trust me or not. Then, he sighed and gazed back out to the sea. Well, alright. I could understand if he didn't want to reply. I shifted, about to stand up, when Proteus interrupted the silence.

"I angered Zeus. The se…I accidently destroyed his island. I hadn't had my sea manipulation under control at the time," he said a bit stiffly.

I frowned a little, noticing his pause. What was he about to say about to say? Also, something about his tone seemed a bit off, like he didn't believe his own words.

"I refused to repent my actions and Zeus cursed me," he continued.

His expression was almost sad. His eyebrows were a bit furrowed as he thought back at the time.

"What was the curse?" I said. I got ready to bolt in case I pressed too far.

"Zeus decreed that I could never make any contact with my family. I could never hear their voice; they could never hear mine. I would never see them, or them, me. And never would I speak or hear of their name. Else, I would feel the wrath of _dominus caelum_."

_The sky god. _

"What about Olympus? You saw Posei-your dad."

"Family isn't always dependent on the blood. I was angry at the gods, Jackson, and I'm still bitter. I hardly consider Poseidon my father anymore."

Faint black lightning flickered around his neck as he said 'Poseidon'. He grimaced.

It was my turn to fall silent now. How had Proteus lived all these years, forcibly torn from his family? He did say that he didn't consider Poseidon his dad anymore. But Tria, no, Astrea…the effect of the curse when he heard her voice was terrifying.

"You haven't seen your sister ever since-"

"No," he interrupted harshly.

Startled, I looked over at him. His tone had suddenly changed and he was trembling. He clenched his hand tightly and there was a disruption in the sea. I backed away in fear. Slowly, he unclenched his fist.

He said, quavering, "I haven't…seen…her for _centuries._"

His voice was thick with bitter anger, but heavy with deep melancholy. Difficultly, he took a quick intake of breath.

"You don't know what it's like…to be unable to see the one person you really care for. I c-can't ever say her name. Not even her name!"

Angry tears streaked down his cheek. His hands were tightly clasped together and he pressed his head against them. His face was contorted in distress.

Shocked, I simply stared. I had never had a sister…but what about my mom? I didn't visit her much anymore, but I could always count on seeing her. _Sally Jackson_. Her name, I took it for granted. Never seeing her…I couldn't even think about it.

"What does she look like?" Proteus said quietly. I almost didn't hear him.

"Tria?"

He gave an inconspicuous nod.

"Well," I strained to think of a good description, "she resembles your mother-hair black as ink and skin like caramel. Her features are less angular and paler, though." I didn't mention that I had only seen Medusa before in a distorted reflection. "And her eyes are a sea-green, but kind of silver."

Proteus smiled. "Ah, her eyes haven't changed.

_Oculi sicut gurgites maris  
viride maris profundo pulchrior  
lunaris splendor lucis."_

I looked at him curiously. He had said _eyes like ocean waves, a deep beautiful sea green, reflects the moon's light._

"Mom liked poetry," he explained. "That was her little poem about _oculi parvi sororis."_

_ Little sister's eyes._

He stood up and brushed off some sand. "Is your Latin alright?"

I thought that he might've been smiling.

"It's okay," I replied.

"Tell Tria…_Etsi non video vos, teneat manum tuam, nec dicam nomini tuo ego semper amorem meum soror_, okay?"

I nodded.

"Bye, Perseus," Proteus said. "I can tell you'll grow up to be a good man."

He stepped into the sea and disappeared with a wisp of sea mist. I came to my feet and stared out into the ocean. Somehow, I knew that Proteus wouldn't come back but the gods wouldn't have to worry. I turned back to camp.

_Even if I don't see you, _

_hold your hand, _

_or say your name, _

_I will always love my little sister._

**:D**

**So, I hope you guys are satisfied with the last chapter :/**

**Explanation on the sudden ending:**

**I was honestly planning to extend this chapter into...what, 4-5(?) chapters, but I felt that I didn't have much inspiration for this story left.**

**As I promised I would finish this story, I did!**

**But I felt if I prolonged it, the story would've just turned...suckish...**

**(as you can see, the last chapter really isn't very great writing...)**

**And! Because I shortened everything, there are a _LOT_ of loose ends.**

**I promise that I have an explanation for all (which I know of :P ) the loose ends.**

**If you guys are curious about any of the loose ends, just message me or something and I'll message you an explanation for what happened.**

**So! This is the end of Vengeful Truth! I don't plan on writing any other Percy J. fanfics but please check out my other stories :)**


	22. Chapter 22: DedicationPgThankYou!

**Obelix POV**

"Hey, you got shiny swords," a camper said.

"Thanks," I replied.

**Hey! So that was completely random!**

**I only added that part because it's illegal or something to post a chapter completely dedicated to an Author's Note. *shrug***

**Well! As you can tell from the chapter title this is my dedication page!**

**So, obviously everybody has to thank me because I wrote this story…(hahaha...okay, srry, srry, bad joke, jk…)**

**Um, seriously…**

**I have to thank everybody who has read my stories! Even if you only lasted for a few stories before you got bored xD**

**Big thanks to my reviewers…**

**ThePrincessOfRavenclaw**

**InheriGirl**

**SuperPaperBag**

**Andromache Andy Michaels 6-26**

**IceRose84528**

**Abdul**

**(All of you are awesome :D)**

**Big thanks to my _other_ readers…**

**-Anonymous-**

**(Sorry, I don't know your names .)**

**And I think there were some of you who made this story a favorite story or something? Sorry, I don't have your usernames, but thanks to you too! *awkward thumbs up***

**_Obviously_ we have to thank the amazing Rick Riordan for writing Percy Jackson in the first place. **

**And finally…**

**SILENTFLIER!**

**She's one of my fantastic friends and supported me through every step of the way of the story. (And imagine waiting for me to update all the time) She helped edit all my chapters and write when I was stuck. So as an attempt to pay back the debt - _Read her stories._**

**THANKS EVERYBODY! :D**

**(Vengeful Truth wouldn't have been the same without all of you!)**


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